The Last Battle
by BetweenFairytales
Summary: Set after TFW. Max and the gang have to finish off the School and Itex once and for all. It starts off with mostly Fax stuff and gets into some action with the School later. I'm horrible at summarizing anything! But at least there's Fax!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to everyone.**

**So, I've been reading a lot of stories on here and on the MR website, so I wrote my own. I actually wrote this before the 5th book came out and posted it on the MR website. Then, I figured, "Hey, why not post it here, too?"  
Which brings me here. I'm still very new to this site, so yea. Haha.**

**On a bright note, the entire story is already written, so I should be able to post, like, every night! (Depending on when I can get on. Homework and such...)**

**Anyway, I've talked long enough...**

**I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters related to it...**

**CHAPTER 1**

_**Max POV**_

It's been a few months since they opened that new school. I guess the government found some other "experiments" to go there since it was still up and running. My flock and I were supposed to go, but my oh-so-friendly voice decided to give us a change of plans. I actually didn't mind leaving the place. It's not like we've had much luck with schools in the past.

I miss my mom and Ella, but I knew if we didn't listen to the voice, it would make sure I really did go insane!

Moving on, the six of us (Total decided to stay with Mom and Akila) stopped at some caves in Texas. I know what you're thinking: "Don't you have some kind of internal GPS thing?"

Yes, I do, but it doesn't give me exact locations. I only get coordinates or directions, like what my voice gives me.

The flock was sound asleep. Angel and Nudge were curled up together. Gazzy was next to the dying fire with Iggy a few feet away. Fang was sleeping with his back against the cave wall, laptop resting on his legs. Him and his blog…

I had second watch. Iggy had the first, and Fang had the last. I watched the night sky for a while, sitting, waiting, thinking. Millions of thoughts swam through my head. Where we were going next. How we were supposed to save the world. When we would be finished with this mess.

I lost track of time when I heard someone moving around. I glanced back to find Fang rubbing his fist over his sleep-heavy eyes. He woke his laptop up and checked the time after the screen lit up the cave.

He got up quietly and walked over to me.

"Why'd you let me sleep so long?" he whispered.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. It wasn't his watch yet, was it?

"Your watch was over almost an hour ago," he stated. Guess I was wrong this time.

"Oh," I yawned. The sleep was finally hitting me.

He gave me a crooked smile that made my heart skip a beat, and said, "Go sleep."

I smiled gratefully and made my way back to the others. I took a spot between them and the entrance and stretched out across the ground. I drifted asleep soon after.

_**Fang POV**_

I was woken up by a strange feeling. I felt like the world was suddenly dropped on my shoulders for a split second. But that was as long as it lasted. I rubbed my fist over my eyes in hopes to wake up faster, then, I noticed I fell asleep with my laptop opened. It was definitely going to need charging soon. This thing has a killer battery, but it wouldn't last forever. Especially if I keep leaving it on like this.

I saw the time and realized I was supposed to be on watch now. Why didn't Max wake me?

She was sitting near the mouth of the cave, just staring off into space. Well, she was until I moved. I got up and went to sit next to her.

"Why'd you let me sleep so long?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in return.

"Your watch was over almost an hour ago," I replied.

It looked like my response suddenly triggered her brain to tell her she was tired.

"Oh," she yawned with a stretch.

I couldn't help but to smile. She looked kind of surprised by this.

Then, I said, "Go sleep."

She moved back towards the others and sprawled out on the ground. It wasn't long until I heard her breathing even out. She fell asleep and the sound of her smooth breathing put me at ease.

It always seems easier to relax when Max relaxes. I guess it comes with the leadership business. When the boss is relaxed, so is everyone else. When the boss is angry, the others are angry.

Thinking back to when Iggy, Gasman, and I went our own way from the girls, a memory I've been working to suppress, I remembered how it felt to be thrown into the leader business. Let me tell you, it's not a position I'm fighting for anytime soon.

Of course, I'd gladly take some of that burden from Max, but she's on stubborn bird-kid! Again, I'm guessing that comes with being a fifteen year old leader.

Before I knew it, the sky was getting lighter. I took a deep breath before standing up to stretch. Max had a way of rising when the sun did, so I figured it wouldn't be long until she was up and prepared.

About half an hour later, I felt a sense of alertness that lasted half a second. I turned around to see Max sitting up and looking around frantically.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

_**Max POV**_

Do you know how annoying it is when you wake up for absolutely no reason whatsoever?

That's what happened to me. My eyes slowly fluttered open, immediately drawn to the barely-lit sky. Out of a force of habit, I jumped right into awareness and did a quick 360 to make sure everyone was still here and accounted for.

After I relaxed a little, I found Fang giving me a strange look. His face quickly softened as he looked back into the growing morning light.

After climbing to my feet, I joined him near the ledge.

"The mornings are always so peaceful," I smiled.

He nodded, saying, "Yea."

I extended my wings out as I stretched, then, relaxed them against my back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang do the same thing. I turned my head to see his beautiful wings out-stretched across the width of the cave. He then relaxed them and strode to the edge. He turned his head back to me with a heart-melting smile and said, "Wanna go for a spin?"

The first thing that came to my mind was the incident that followed the last time we took a spin. We never actually talked about it, and, frankly, I still didn't want to. I guess I just have a hard time admitting things that make me feel vulnerable like that.

Fang internally took note of my hesitation and proceeded to go for a morning flight alone. After a bounding leap into the air, he snapped his wings open, and the sight took my breath away.

Stepping closer to the edge, I took a deep breath and dove from the cliff.

_**Fang POV**_

"Wanna go for a spin?" I asked Max.

For a moment, she seemed to zone out. Suddenly, I had another weird split-second emotion strike me. I had a hard time labeling it, though. It was kind of like fear and confusion rolled into a ball. But, as I said, it didn't even last a full second.

I assumed she was going to sit this one out. At least, that's what I read in her eyes.

To my surprise, she followed me. I didn't realize it until she came into my peripheral, but she was there nonetheless.

Not that I didn't enjoy her company, but I was slightly confused as to why she did follow. I highly doubted it was because she liked me, past accounts considered. As far as I knew, she didn't need to get away from the flock, and there wasn't danger.

I must have been staring at her because she smiled and said, "Maybe we should find somewhere to pick up some food."

There was my answer. I nodded and slowed down a bit to let her take the lead. It was one of those unspoken actions that we both seemed to understand.

_**Max POV**_

A few minutes after I took off after Fang, he caught sight of me and turned his head slightly to see me better. He gave me a confused expression. I knew he was trying to find the reason for my hesitated decision.

The only problem with that: I don't think I even knew the reason. I just did it.

But, I could definitely pull an excuse out of the air. I smiled and said, "Maybe we should find somewhere to pick up some food."

Crap! That didn't sound as definite out loud as it did in my head. It sounded like a lame excuse. Granted, that is what it was, but it wasn't supposed to sound like it.

I guess he accepted that answer because he let me lead the way.

Fifteen minutes later, we landed in a shaded area about a block away from a grocery store. Ten minutes and five bags after that, we headed back to the caves.

_**Fang POV**_

"Up and at 'em!" Max yelled as we landed in the cave.

Angel was already up with bright eyes. Nudge blearily opened her eyes and rolled over. The Gasman sat up and yawned before asking, "Is it breakfast time?"

"Once we get Iggy up," Max replied.

"Yo, Ig!" I shouted next to him. "Breakfast!"

A grumble rolled from Iggy's throat and he muttered, "Yea, yea! I'm coming."


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

_**Max POV**_

"Hey, Max," Gazzy called over the rushing wind.

"Huh?" I asked, looking over my shoulder, seeing his curious face between the strokes of my wings.

"Where are we headed?" he asked.

"My mom's first," I replied.

The voice had us running around like crazy lately. Last week, we were on the east coast. Then, it told us to go to the west coast. I figured a visit to my mom wouldn't hurt.

"And from there?" Gazzy continued.

"Somewhere along the west coast," I said. "The voice wasn't very specific. It sounds like we're heading towards San Francisco."

Nudge immediately began running her mouth, but my mind wandered away as soon as she started her rant about sight-seeing.

"Did you hear me, Max?" Nudge asked, bringing me back in.

"Sorry, what?"

"Could we please get some lunch, now?" she pleaded.

"We've only been flying for three hours," I stated. "And we only have about an hour to go, not even. Can you last one more hour?"

I tried not to sound rude. I just didn't want to stop when we were so close.

"I guess," she sighed. "Oh! Do you think your mom will have some cookies ready for us? That would be so amazing!"

Another Nudge rant. I rolled my eyes and laughed quietly to myself. Or so I thought…

_**Fang POV**_

We were coasting above the clouds for about three hours. Max told me we were needed on the west coast, according to her voice.

When the Gasman asked about it, Nudge went on and on about the possibilities of where we could go and what we could do.

Out of nowhere, I felt hungry. But, I wasn't actually hungry. It was another split-second emotion, only it lasted two seconds. Then, it was gone.

At that exact moment, Nudge said, "Now, I'm hungry. Max, we should stop for food!"

That was…strange. This was the third or fourth time I had a split-second feeling that wasn't actually mine. Only, the last one was a second and a half longer than the others.

Point aside, something weird was happening.

"Did you hear me, Max?" Nudge asked.

Max and I seemed to drift in and out during Nudge's babbling if we knew it wasn't important. Don't get me wrong, she's a cool kid, but she could talk for hours about nothing.

"Sorry, what?" Max replied.

"Could we please get some lunch, now?" Nudge asked again.

"We've only been flying for three hours. And we only have about an hour to go, not even. Can you last one more hour?" Max said.

"I guess," Nudge sighed. "Oh…"

Oh, another rant. About food. Well, cookies, more specifically.

Max let out a quiet laugh and I swooped closer to her.

"Yo."

She was little surprised by my interruption, but said, "Hey. How's it going?"

I shrugged, "It's going."

I wanted to tell her about these weird split-second emotions, but decided that was a conversation better for another time.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

_**Fang POV**_

We finally made it to Dr. Martinez's house, landing in the dark woods just outside their yard.

"Max!" Dr. Martinez yelled as we stumbled out of the woods.

"Hi, Mom," Max said into her mom's hair as they hugged each other.

After they pulled apart, Dr. Martinez proceeded to give us each a hug.

"Is everything ok?" she asked, well, like a worried mother.

When she reached me, she wrapped her arms around me. I felt the sudden urge to hug her back after I was struck with a sort of relieved feeling. So, I reached my arms slowly around her back and gave her a quick hug before dropping my arms back to my side.

"It's good to see you all again," she smiled to me. She was as shocked as I was that I actually hugged her back this time.

"We were in the neighborhood," Max replied.

"Well, come on inside," Dr. Martinez stated. "Ella and I were just making cookies for after dinner."

_**Max POV**_

As we stepped out of the woods, I saw my mom standing out on the front porch.

"Max!" she called as we came into view.

She ran towards us and we smashed together in a hug.

"Hi, Mom," I smiled.

She immediately started hugging everyone and asked, "Is everything ok?"

I chuckled to myself when it was Fang's turn for a hug. He was never the huggiest person, and, when my mom gives him hugs, he goes stiff.

I was shocked when Fang actually hugged her back. I mean, it was quick and barely considered a hug, but it was more than he'd ever done.

When she pulled away, she smiled to him and said, "It's good to see you all again."

"We were in the neighborhood," I replied.

"Well, come on inside. Ella and I were just making cookies."

Cookies…

_**Fang POV**_

The scent of freshly-baked cookies filled the house. We followed the aroma straight to the kitchen as Ella said, "Mom! They'll be done in five more…"

Her voice trailed when she saw us.

"You guys are back!" She screeched and lunged for us.

"Hi, Ella," Max laughed after their hug.

Just like her mom, Ella gave us all hugs, but I didn't hug back like I did with her mom.

Ok, I wasn't trying to be rude, but the only reason I hugged her mom was because that strange emotion overwhelmed me.

Thankfully, she didn't take offense to my reaction. It was normal.

"You guys came just in time," she smiled.

I noticed that her focus was on Iggy as she said that.

"We're making cookies!" she finished.

Max's mom fixed us some drinks, and Ella checked on the cookies again.

She opened the oven and reached for the cookies. Almost immediately, my hand felt like it just got stung by something, so I flinched and pulled it back.

Max gave me a strange look until our attention went back to Ella when she cried, "Ow! I burned my finger!"

_**Max POV**_

That was one of the most bizarre things I'd seen.

Ok, so maybe not, but it was still pretty weird.

"Fang…" I began to say.

He looked at me, then back to his hand, examining it again.

"That was totally crazy!" Nudge stated. "You flinched right as Ella burned herself! Is your hand okay, Ella? How's yours, Fang? What happened?"

"I-I don't know," Fang answered quietly.

My mom helped Ella, and they both joined us in our questioning looks to Fang.

"Dude, what happened?" Iggy asked. "I felt the table jerk and, then, Ella scream."

Gazzy answered first. "Fang and Ella jumped at the same time."

"Fang," I started again. "Did you…do you have a new ability?"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

_**Fang POV**_

"Fang, did you…do you have a new ability?" Max asked and everyone stared at me curiously. I guess this was the time for that conversation.

"Maybe," I answered.

"Well, come on, Fang," Iggy demanded. "Tell us what happened!"

"Well," I began. "I've been having random split-second emotions lately, but they're not mine."

"Whose are they?" Nudge asked me wide-eyed.

"I think they're everyone else's," I replied at the sudden realization of what was going on.

"You feel our emotions?" Angel asked.

"I think so."

"Empathy," Max's mom stated, breaking the moment of silence.

"What?" the Gasman asked her.

"Empathy," she said again. "That's his new ability. Or, at least, that's what it sounds like."

"How many times as this happened?" Max finally asked.

"I don't know." Let's see, one-two-three… "A couple of times."

"When did it start?" she continued.

I thought for a moment. "The other night. Just before my watch, I think."

"What's it like?" Nudge chimed in again.

"Is it like my mind reading?" Angel added.

I smiled at her and said, "Angel, I don't read minds, so I don't know what that's like."

She giggled, "Oh yea."

"Alright everyone," Dr. Martinez interrupted. "Time to get washed up for dinner. Iggy, would you mind giving me a hand? I'm going to need the extra help to prepare enough food."

"Sure thing, Dr. M," Iggy replied.

_**Max POV**_

As everyone darted upstairs to the bathroom to wash their hands, I pulled Fang into the living room.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, but not angrily. I was more curious than anything.

"I wasn't even sure what it was, until now," he simply said.

"How does it work?"

He paused and shrugged. "It just happens."

"When else has this happened?"

Another pause. "For sure, earlier this afternoon. When Nudge was hungry and asked to stop."

"You felt hungry, too?" I was surprised by all of this.

"Yea. And, when your mom hugged me a little while ago, I felt her relief to see us, and it made me hug her back."

Alright, I was beyond surprised.

I wonder…

"Is it…working, now?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I don't think so. It happens randomly. For now, anyway."

Why did I get the feeling that his new ability was going to make things a lot more interesting?


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to my 2 reviews and those of you who actually took time to read it! =D**

**If you read it and didn't like it…well…sorry. Haha**

**If you read it, thought it was okay, but didn't review…that's cool, too. ^_^**

**Sorry. I'm babbling.**

**Here's some more story. I'll probably add two or three chapters tonight. Idk.**

**CHAPTER 6**

_**Fang POV**_

Dinner was pretty exciting. Well, for the younger kids anyway.

"Try to read me!" Nudge squealed.

"Me next!" Gasman stated.

"Me, too!" Angel added.

Max laughed at the excitement from the kids.

"Guys, I don't even know if I can use my ability on command yet," I said.

"Can't you at least try?" Nudge pleaded.

"Fine," I sighed.

The kitchen was silent as I tried focusing on Nudge.

After a few minutes, I shook my head and said, "I got nothin'."

She let out the breath she had been holding and frowned. I felt a little frustrated and disappointed, but I didn't know if that was me or Nudge feeling that.

What was even the point of this ability?

'You'll figure it out, Fang,' Angel thought to me.

'Thanks, Angel, but you know…' I thought back with a half smile.

'Yea,' she said, cutting me off. 'I'm sorry!'

_**Max POV**_

The kids were all asking Fang to try his new ability on them. When he finally caved, we all fell silent and waited.

"I got nothin'," he said, shaking his head.

Everyone seemed a little bummed, so we went back to enjoying the dinner Mom and Ig whipped up.

I shot a glance to Fang, and, a second later, he had a small smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that lit up the room.

'That's really cute, Max,' Angel giggled in my head.

'Ange, you know…' I thought firmly.

'Sorry, Max. Fang just told me the same thing,' she replied.

I guessed that had something to do with Fang's smile.

Dinner continued with random conversations. Iggy and Ella kept a steady conversation up, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy talked about what they wanted to do when we got to the west coast, Fang ate his dinner quietly, and Mom talked to me.

"How long will you be staying?" she asked.

"Probably just overnight, if that's ok," I replied.

"Of course, sweetheart," she said as if I was silly for thinking otherwise. "You're all welcome here for as long as you want."

I blushed and smiled thankfully to her.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer?" It sounded like she was trying to persuade me to stay at least a few nights.

"I don't know, Mom," I sighed. "We haven't heard or seen anything from Itex or the School recently, so we're trying to keep it that way."

"Three nights?" she offered.

"Oh," Nudge chimed in. "Can we, Max?"

All eyes were on me. I already knew I'd lost this battle, so I said, "Two nights."

That was immediately followed by cheers from the kids, including Ella, a wide grin from Iggy, and an impassive face from Fang.

_**Fang POV**_

After dinner, we figured out who was going to sleep where while we devoured the cookies Dr. Martinez and Ella made.

"We have two spare bedrooms and someone can sleep on the couch," Dr. Martinez informed us.

"Max, you can stay in my room!" Ella said excitedly.

"Alright, guys," Max said in her leader voice. "Nudge and Angel, why don't you take one room, Ig and Gazzy, you can take the other. Fang, do you mind taking the couch?"

I shrugged and said, "It's a heck of a lot better than sleeping in a tree."

An hour later, everyone was heading to bed. I stretched out on my stomach across the couch with my wings out and relaxed on my back. I heard footsteps echo from the hallway upstairs and listened as they made their way down the stairs.

"Fang?" Max whispered.

"Hmm?" I glanced over to see her walking over to the couch.

"Just came to say goodnight," she said after a short pause and held out her left fist.

"Night, Max," I replied as I stacked my fist on hers. "See ya tomorrow."

She smiled and headed back up to Ella's room. After that, she was all I could think about until I finally fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**So I think I'm going to change the summary for this and just say that it's mostly Fax with some action stuff later. Lol**

**Anyways…here's another one! ^_^**

**CHAPTER 7**

_**Fang POV**_

The next morning, I sat in the kitchen as Dr. Martinez began preparing breakfast. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and assumed it was Max. She always seemed to be the first one up.

"G'mornin'," I heard Iggy mutter behind me.

I turned around, just to confirm that is was, in fact, Iggy up before the others.

"Mornin', Ig," I replied.

"Good morning, Iggy," Dr. Martinez smiled. "I'm fixing pancakes for breakfast. I'll go wake everyone else for breakfast."

"Fang?" Iggy asked as soon as Dr. Martinez left the room.

"Yea?" I said glancing over at him.

"I was wondering…" he began. He sounded kind of embarrassed. I had also felt his embarrassment for all of three seconds.

"What is it, Ig?"

"Could you…do me a favor?" he finally managed to ask.

"Such as…"

"I need to know if…well…Ella likes me."

Ok. Didn't see that coming.

"Do you like her?" I was curious.

He blushed, scratched the back of his head, and said, "Kinda. Can you just help me out?"

"You want ME to ask ELLA if she likes you?"

I must admit, I wasn't sure why Iggy came to me first. Then, after thinking about it, I realized why he wouldn't go to Max, for obvious reasons, or Gazzy or Nudge, because I doubt they had any experience with that. Angel, I could see. She could just read her mind and there! It would be done!

"No!" he said slightly irritated. "Dude, you have a brand new ability just waiting to be put to the test."

Oh. Proved me wrong. He wanted my new-found ability, not my advice.

"Why not ask Angel to do a quick mind-reading on her?" I asked.

"Because Angel has a tendency to let things slip. I don't want Max, or Ella, for that matter, to know yet," he said.

"Umm…I can't really control it yet," I explained. "It just kinda comes and goes right now."

"And what better way to practice than to try to help one of your best friends out?" he pointed out.

The guy made a point. I had to start somewhere.

"Fine," I agreed hesitantly. "But, you can NEVER tell Max I'm doing this. She may just kill us both."

Iggy smiled gratefully and said, "Thanks!"

Speaking of Max, she entered the kitchen just as Iggy and I finished our conversation.

_**Max POV**_

Fang and Iggy were already sitting at the table when I came down for breakfast.

"Hey, guys," I yawned.

"Hey," they said simultaneously.

"How'd you guys sleep?" I asked, mostly to Fang, as I heard the others making their way downstairs.

"Good," Iggy said.

"Fine," was Fang's reply.

"No problems on the couch?" I asked him jokingly.

Fang sarcastically said, "Yea. It was really uncomfortable compared to that cave we were in last night."

Although I rolled my eyes at him, I couldn't help but to laugh on the inside.

I'm not sure why, but Fang always had a way to make smile no matter how I felt.

'You should tell him that. He likes it when you smile,' Angel's voice seeped into my head.

I whipped my head around to see Nudge, Angel, Ella, and Gazzy walking groggily to the table. Well, everyone but Angel looked extremely tired.

Mom set a giant plate with a huge stack of pancakes in the middle of the table, and we all began scrafing them down quickly. There's nothing like warm, home-cooked meals!


	8. Chapter 8

**By the way...I'm working on another story at the moment. It kind of has a complicated story plot, so I probably won't post it for a while. But I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a better story on the way! ^_^**

**Back to the story!**

**CHAPTER 8**

_**Max POV**_

Around lunchtime, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and I were flying around the house. Ella and Mom watched us, captivated. Fang and Iggy were still inside, though.

Either they were up to something, or they were having "guy talk." It was probably not the first one, because they know better. Well, at least Fang does…most of the time. If it was the second one, I was glad to not be part of it.

I landed a few feet from my mom and sister, who both had wide eyes and grins. It always made me smile to know that others thought our wings were beyond cool. I shook out my wings and sat down on the ground. Leaning back on my hands, I watched the other three do tricks and practice techniques from the hawks from way-back-when.

"Max, you guys are amazing!" Ella stated in awe as she sat down next to me.

"Thanks," I said with a slight blush.

"All of you are," she continued, shifting her gaze to the sky. "It's so…so…fascinating! Especially Iggy! I mean, he does it all blind!"

She was definitely hanging out with Nudge a lot. And did she have a thing for Iggy or something?

"He's blind unless everything in the background is white," I corrected her.

"Still," she sighed. "It's incredible."

I was about to ask her if she had feelings for Iggy, when Fang and Iggy came outside. Fang gave me a strange look, then, looked to the sky to see the others. A look of joy crossed his face and my heart skipped a beat.

"Cool," Iggy grinned, knowing what everyone was doing already. "I love free-flying!"

With that, he unfurled his wings, ran a few feet, and launched himself into the air.

Fang remained standing there for a moment until, finally, he snapped his dark wings out and took one bounding leap, flapping down hard. He dropped a few feet, but quickly gained altitude with each stroke. Suddenly, I felt like Ella when she watched us. I felt awed by the way Fang flew across the sky.

A very small, very young, very girly giggle slipped into my thoughts. Angel…

_**Fang POV**_

After lunch, everyone began heading outside. Before I followed the others, Iggy said, "Hey, Fang."

"Yo," I answered.

"Do you think you could try out that new ability now?" he asked quietly.

I let out a sigh and said, "We can try, but I'm not making any promises."

"Thanks," Iggy replied smiling.

I began concentrating; eyes squeezed shut and fists clenched. We were silent for a few minutes, and I started thinking it was a lost cause. Then, I felt something.

I felt Ella's emotions! At least, that's what I assumed. Anyway, the emotions I got from her were astonished, fascinated, and a little jealous.

"Whoa," I breathed.

"Did it work?" Iggy whispered curiously and impatiently.

"Yea," I replied and relaxed a bit. "She's fascinated right now. And a little jealous."

"Anything about me?" He already sounded disappointed.

"I'm only feeling her current emotions," I stated. "Maybe we should wait until she's thinking about you or talking to you."

"Alright," he said. "Thanks again, man."

I slapped him on the back, and we walked out the back door to join the others. When I stepped into the yard, I noticed Max sitting on the ground with Ella. I wondered where the others were and realized they were flying freely above us. We all enjoyed getting the chance to fly for fun.

I looked up at the others and felt pure joy wash over me. I was pretty sure that feeling was a combination of Nudge, Gasman, Angel, Max, and my feelings all wrapped together.

"Cool. I love free-flying!" Iggy said and opened his wings.

After a running start, he took off into the air with the others.

With that joyful feeling, I shot my wings out and jumped into the sky without a running start. I fell a few feet at first, so I stroked down hard a few times until I reached the others.

Flying in a wide arc, I glanced back to the ground to see Max. She was watching us with a beautiful smile on her lips.

I wished she would join us. Watching Max fly was a breath-taking sight.

That was the exact emotion I was getting from her for three seconds. Then, something clicked: She wasn't just watching "us"…she was watching me.

"Come on, Max!" Angel shouted to the ground. She read my thoughts again, no doubt.

'Thanks, Angel,' I thought to her, and she smiled to me in return.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Ok…so if you happened to read this story when I first posted it on the MR website, you will notice that I changed the ending slightly.**

**For those of you who didn't read it on the website, I changed it to add a tiny bit more Fax to it. ^_^**

**Anyway, hope you like it!**

**CHAPTER 9**

_**Fang POV**_

Max joined in our flying, which lasted a good hour and a half, thanks to Angel and her unexpected mind reading sweep. All that ran through my mind was Max. I wanted to see that relaxed, peaceful, beautiful smile that she always had when we flew without a purpose. I wanted to be able to feel the peace that she had.

I guess I had found something useful for this ability.

Finally, we all landed, feeling refreshed and calmed. We headed back inside for some snacks and regrouped in the living room.

"I know how much you kids eat, so dinner will be ready in another hour or less," Dr. Martinez said before walking back into the kitchen.

"Let's play a game!" Angel suggested with none other than her infamous Bambi eyes.

Of course, those eyes were directed toward me and Max. Max gave me a questioned look that said 'I guess it couldn't hurt,' and I shrugged back.

I loved the way we could have a conversation just by looking at each other.

"Yea!" Nudge cheered. "Ella, what kind of games do you have?"

"Let's go see!" Ella said as she jumped up.

Ella, Nudge, and Angel ran upstairs to find some games. The Gasman decided to play a video game instead.

Finally, the kids came back down with a game.

Oh, great…

_**Max POV**_

"Why that game?" I complained.

"It'll be fun, Max!" Ella tried to reassure me. "I promise."

I wasn't feeling so reassured yet.

"Please, Max!" Nudge and Angel pleaded.

I looked at Fang again with wide eyes, telling him that it was probably a set-up.

He nodded. He thought it was a set-up, too.

"What's the game?" Iggy asked.

I let out a sigh and said, "Twister."

_**Fang POV**_

Iggy raised one eyebrow and said, "Guess that leaves me out, then."

"No way!" Ella retorted. "You can still feel colors! You have to play!"

I caught a glimpse of Ella's emotions again. It was hard to pick out at first. I think she had butterflies. She was nervous. I was pretty sure it was because she liked him.

Iggy would be excited to hear this.

_**Max POV**_

Somehow, Fang, Iggy, and I lost the fight against Twister. The game had begun.

Angel was spinning, and Nudge, Ella, Iggy, Fang, and I were playing. It was NOT easy. Angel would call someone's name, then a hand or foot, and a color.

Ella went down first, followed by Nudge soon after. Fang, Iggy, and I were holding our own thus far. Iggy went down a few minutes later, mostly because the Gasman tried to distract him.

It was down to me and Fang. Coincidence? With Angel, I would think not. Especially since she was giving me a huge grin at that point.

Of course, being the stubborn bird-kid I am, I was not ready to let Fang win.

I seemed to be knotted up in my own limbs, arms and legs twisted beneath me on the blue and yellow spots, after my turn.

"Fang," Angel announced. "Right hand red."

_**Fang POV**_

"This should be good," I heard Iggy mutter. He knew my predicament somehow.

The girls giggled and the Gasman stared, waiting to see how I would pull this off.

The only way I could manage this would be to reach over Max, who was standing right in the way of the red spots and my victory.

I was not about to let Max win. She would hold this over me until the end of time. Not happening!

I reached over her for one of the red dots and managed to catch myself on one before I could fall over, taking Max with me.

Now, Max was huddled on her entangled limbs, while I was trying not to fall over.

I did not expect the next part. My new ability kicked in again and I felt butterflies in my stomach again. Only, it wasn't Ella this time…

_**Max POV**_

Laughter erupted from our spectators. There I was, trying to keep balance on my blue and yellow spots, while Fang's breath was hot on my neck. My heart was pounding! I'm sure Fang noticed this. That only made things worse, of course.

I snapped myself back when I realized that there was no way for me to move for my next turn. If I did, Fang would, most likely, come crashing down on top of me. No, that wouldn't be awkward at all. Note sarcasm.

Fortunately, I didn't have to take my turn.

"Kids! Get cleaned up for dinner. It'll be ready in ten minutes!" Mom called from the kitchen.

The kids all got up quickly and ran up the stairs. I tried to jump up but failed thanks to Fang.

Instead, we both fell back to the ground. I ended up on my back, and he was right above me, looking down at me. Thankfully, he managed to catch himself, so he didn't actually fall right on me. However, our position was still kind of awkward.

"Sorry," he said quietly, his breath caressing my cheeks.

I was afraid to speak. I knew if I did, it would come out strained, or I would say something totally stupid. So I just nodded.

He stood up and offered me his hand. Blushing, I took his offer, and he helped me up. I let go of it quickly as we all went back to the kitchen for dinner.

**AN: I would also like to thank my third reviewer!! I appreciate the support! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

_**Max POV**_

That night, after I tucked the kids in, I made my way back downstairs. Fang had his laptop open, checking his blog and listening to his music quietly.

"Goodnight, Fang," I whispered.

He glanced up, holding a fist out in front of me, and said, "Night, Max."

I stacked fists with him, walked back upstairs, and unobtrusively slipped into Ella's room.

"Max?" Ella sighed. She looked like she was still asleep.

"Yea, Ella?" I whispered.

"I'm really gonna miss you guys when you leave tomorrow," she mumbled. "We never get to hang out. We never get to talk."

I felt terrible about it. She was my own sister, and I didn't have time to actually get to hang out with her.

"I wish you could all stay here," Ella continued with her mumbling. I'm not sure that she was aware that she was sharing all of this with me. "Angel and Nudge are so much fun. Gazzy is just funny! Fang is super cool and nice. And Iggy…" a smile spread across her face. "…Iggy is so cute. And nice. And funny. I think I'll miss him the most. Next to you, of course, Max."

Wait, did Ella just confess her love for Iggy in her sleep? Can you do that? I wonder if I talk in my sleep…

_**Fang POV**_

While Max was tucking in the younger kids, I checked the ol' blog and listened to some music that I had on my laptop. A little while later, Max quietly came downstairs and whispered, "Goodnight, Fang."

I held out my fist and replied, "Night, Max."

After she stacked her fist on mine, she went back upstairs. Once I knew she was back in Ella's room, I snuck into Iggy's room. I almost forgot to tell him about Ella.

I tapped lightly on his door and slipped in before he even answered.

"Ig?" I whispered.

"Fang?" he whispered back. His voice sounded tired, but he hadn't fallen asleep yet. Gazzy was out cold.

"I tested out my ability for you," I stated quietly. "Well, it really just kind of happened on its own, but it still worked.

"And?" he pressed anxiously.

I told him everything about what happened with the game. At least, I told him the parts that pertained to him and Ella.

"You really think she likes me, then?" he grinned.

"Pretty sure," I shrugged.

"Thanks!"

"Sure," I replied and made my way toward the window.

"Where are you going?" Iggy asked, realizing that I walked the opposite direction of the door.

I opened the window carefully and replied, "Going to think. Leave this open."

"Sure thing, man," he yawned.

When I edged out onto the roof, I was surprised to find Max sitting up there.

_**Max POV**_

I needed to stop and think. After Ella's subconscious confession, I had to take some time to think things over. I had to figure out some kind of plan to find a way to make things up to Ella and my mom for our constant drop-in-and-leave game.

With my arms hugging my knees to my chest, I stared up at the stars as I sat on the roof.

It had been about ten minutes before Fang appeared on the roof near the boys' window.

"Fang?" I asked startled.

"Hey, Max. What are you doing out here?" he asked as he took a seat next to me.

"Thinking," I sighed. "Why'd you come out here?"

"Same," he replied.

We sat quietly for a few minutes until I let out a heavy sigh. I still felt guilty for leaving my mom and Ella like this all the time.

"Wanna talk about anything?" Fang asked, not looking at me.

I shrugged.

I didn't know what to talk about. Maybe how we've been on the run for almost a year now. How I'm supposed to save the world. How I finally find out who my mom is, and I can't spend even a week with her because I'm afraid something bad might happen. How I'm afraid something might happen to the flock in all of this. How I'm afraid something would happen to Fang in all of this. How I wish Fang and I could forget the troubles of the world and just be safe together with the flock.

Whoa! That's not right. Fang and me together? I couldn't. I wouldn't. Maybe I-

Suddenly, Fang turned toward me. He gently put a hand on the back of my neck and turned my face towards his in the other. Then, he leaned in and softly pressed his lips to mine.


	11. Chapter 11

**I would like to thank my 3 reviewers! :)**

**PaRaMOrE-0394, thank you for reviewing twice! ^_^**

**musikfreak61692, thanks for being the first to review! ^_^**

**And Bex B. & Friends, thanks for the fun review! ^_^**

**I don't like to demand reviews before posting another chapter. Some people just like to hop on and read stories. And that's just fine with me. But special thanks to my 3 reviewers who wanted to send some encouragement! =D**

**I'll continue ranting after the chapter...**

**Okay, onto the story!**

**Enjoy!**

**=D**

**CHAPTER 11**

_**Fang POV**_

I asked if Max wanted to talk, but all she did was shrug. I immediately knew she had a million things going on in her head. Like the other night in the cave, I felt like the world had fallen on my shoulders. I quickly realized that it had actually fallen on Max's shoulders. She didn't need to carry it alone, though. I was there to help her. And so was the flock.

After that, I acted on impulse. I shifted slightly to face her. Then, I placed a hand on the back of her neck and laid the other lightly on her cheek. Her breath caught in her chest when I turned her face to mine to kiss her.

She was very tense when our lips met, but she relaxed after a moment. I was about to pull away to explain myself before she took off like she had in the past, but I didn't get the chance.

Max's hands slowly found my face, as if to keep me from moving, and she tilted her head slightly so we could kiss better. Not what I was expecting.

My hands slid slowly down her back, and I puller her closer.

The moment seemed to last forever. And I would've been just fine if it did. Of course, it didn't.

Max tensed up again and pulled away abruptly, both of us breathing raggedly. There was the Max I knew.

"Max, wait!" I stated, a slight panic in my voice, before she could even try to stand up. "I'm sorry! Don't run! Please!"

_**Max POV**_

Just as it had in the past, my brain shorted out once Fang's lips found mine. I was glad it did, though. All of my worries seemed like they were melting away, so I relaxed. It felt a lot like the Valium incident, only I wasn't drugged this time and this was a hundred times better.

One thing sparked in my mind, and that was that I couldn't let this moment end yet. I slowly reached my hands up to his face and gently held him in place, slightly tilting my head.

I started getting dizzy again. It was getting frustrating, but I finally remembered to breathe through my nose.

I tried to keep from shivering when I felt his hands slowly sliding down my back. He pulled me closer, and my heart raced faster. The moment was perfect! I didn't want it to end, but I knew it would have to sooner or later.

Unfortunately, I knew I would have to be the one to stop this. My muscles tensed, and I quickly pulled away.

We were both breathing heavily from lack of oxygen. I stared into his eyes and contemplated running, but something inside forced me to stay. I didn't have it in me to run from him anymore.

"Max, wait! I'm sorry!" Fang began talking quickly. He was expecting me to run, too. "Don't run! Please!"

"Fang, I..." I stuttered, trying to tell him I wasn't running. I hated not being able to find the right words.

"I'm sorry!" he continued. "I shouldn't have done that. I know. It was rude of me to just do that to you! But I had to…I wanted...no. I _needed_ to show you that you aren't in this alone. You don't have to carry the world by yourself! I'm here for you! I can help you!"

Whoa! When you get him started on talking, he just keeps going.

"Fang, stop," I said in almost a whisper. "First, I'm not running this time. Second, I know you want to help, but I just…I…"

I let out a sigh and stared at my sneakers. All of my instincts continued to shout at me to run away, but I just couldn't do that to Fang. Not again.

"I need to figure things out on my own, first," I started again, not looking at him. Sharing feelings is so annoying.

Finally, I stood up and said, "We should get some rest. We have a flight to make in the morning."

"Yea," he said, barely audible, and stood up. "Night, Max."

"Night, Fang," I replied and we both slipped back into the windows we came through.

_**Fang POV**_

"Fang, I…" she stammered.

I couldn't let her get away again.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that. I know. It was rude of me to just do that to you! But I had to…I wanted...no. I _needed_ to show you that you aren't in this alone. You don't have to carry the world by yourself! I'm here for you! I can help you!"

"Fang, stop," she said just above a whisper. "First, I'm not running this time. Second, I know you want to help, but I just…I…"

She wasn't going to run again. Or so she said. That eased my worries a little bit.

Then, she stared at her sneakers with great interest, her muscles still tensed.

"I need to figure things out on my own, first," she said.

She stood up, and I thought she was about to snap her wings out and take off.

"We should get some rest. We have a flight to make in the morning," she sighed.

Once again, we avoided talking about what actually happened, but at least she wasn't running.

"Yea," I whispered as I stood up next to her. "Night, Max."

"Night, Fang."

She slipped back through Ella's window as I entered Iggy and the Gasman's room. I went back to my bed on the couch and went over things in my head again…

Max didn't run away after I kissed her this time. Maybe there was still hope for us yet…

**So, as I was saying before the chapter, I'm not going to wait for so many reviews before posting another chapter. Writing, for me, is about the joy of writing, so that's why I'm here.  
If you don't feel like reviewing, then whatevs. That's fine with me.  
If you want to leave me a review, then I thank you wholeheartedly! :)**

**Yea, sorry for babbling. I just get on the rolls sometimes.**


	12. Chapter 12

**My random note of the day:**

**(I don't mind if you just skip this and read the story. It doesn't pertain to the story whatsoever. ;) )**

**I don't know how many of you watch Glee, but if you don't, you should! I'm in love with it!  
The point of me mentioning this is that I downloaded one of the new covers from tomorrow's episode off of iTunes. "Sweet Caroline." _Amazing!_  
I love that they cover a lot of oldies and stuff. It's fantastic. :)  
And the first cover they did (of "Don't Stop Believin'") was genius!  
And, also from tomorrow's episode, they covered "Thong Song." I haven't heard that since, like, elemetary school!**

**Sorry! Ranting over. ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**CHAPTER 12**

_**Max POV**_

I was exhausted when I woke up the next morning. Sleeping seemed to be a little difficult after Fang's kiss last night.

At breakfast, I sat across from Fang at the table. I sort of withdrew myself from all of the conversations taking place. Instead, I concentrated on breathing evenly and keeping my face from turning red.

Occasionally, I would peek at the others, just to acknowledge that I wasn't totally spaced out.

It was fine until my eyes met Fang's. The moment only lasted a few seconds, though, because I instantly felt my cheeks heat and my breath caught in my chest.

I swear he smirked just before I looked away, but I wasn't about to try and find out. Once I looked away, Angel began giggling. I wondered whose mind she read this time.

_**Fang POV**_

Although my sleep was limited, it was peaceful. Last night's rooftop incident was the cause of my peace of mind, of course. I mean, Max didn't run away like she had in the past.

When Max came down for breakfast, the dark circles under her eyes told me that she didn't get all of the sleep she really needed.

Everyone was talking and enjoying breakfast. Iggy was talking to Ella, and by the looks on their faces, I was guessing that things were going well. The others had random conversations where the topic switched every five minutes. I chose to not even try to keep up.

Then, I realized Max wasn't involved in any of the commotion either. She looked like she was concentrating on something. I could almost see, and could definitely feel, her determination. I just didn't know what it was about.

"I think she's embarrassed by something," Angel thought to me. "She's trying to not blush."

Max's gaze finally met mine. Her determination and concentration grew quickly. I was pretty sure she was holding her breath, too.

I smiled, but thought, "Angel, how many times have I told you?"

She giggled and gave me an innocent look. It's really no wonder how this little girl could get away with the things she has.

I tried sorting out the possibilities for Max's behavior, given this new information. One thing I was sure of, it had something to do with me.

"Alright," Max stated after we finished eating. "We need to get our things together and move out!"

_**Max POV**_

An hour later, we had everything together and were standing in the front yard, ready for take off.

"Max, honey," Mom said with a small smile. "Take these with you."

"Thanks, Mom," I smiled back as I took the small bag of things she prepared for us. "What's in here?"

Her smile grew wider and she said, "Cookies, some bottles of water, and an iPod."

"An iPod?" I asked surprised. I thought those things were expensive. And she got us one?

"I know how much you kids are on the run, so I thought you could use it while you travel," she replied.

Her face told me not to argue, so I hugged her tightly and whispered, "Thank you so much, Mom! For everything!"

"I love you, honey," she whispered back.

Everyone began exchanging hugs with Mom and Ella. Iggy and Ella hugged for a while, and we had to force Iggy's attention back so we could leave.

Fang took off running first, followed by Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, and Iggy. Each snapped their wings out and ascended into the air. I took my running start, and, looking over my shoulder, called, "Bye! See you soon!"

And so, our next adventure began. We were on our way to San Francisco to see what the voice wanted us to do there.

"Max, you need to be prepared for what's ahead," the voice said.

I rolled my eyes and thought back, "Care to elaborate?"

"Please, be prepared." That was not elaborating!

Why must things always be so difficult? I wish things would change for us!

"Be careful what you wish for, Maximum," the voice replied before going silent.

**Ok. I would just like to remind everyone, in case you forgot, I wrote this story BEFORE _Max_ came out. You'll see why I'm saying this in later chapters. Like, near the end of the story. But it's there.**


	13. Chapter 13

**To PaRaMOrE-(numbers I can't remember right now...sorry): I appreciate the ideas! :)  
Maybe I can throw in an extra chapter or something. If I get some time. Between school and work, I don't get much time.**

**Anyway, here it is. I changed the ending a little from the original. I like this one better. ^_^**

**CHAPTER 13**

_**Max POV**_

A few hours and two stops later, we landed in San Francisco. Our first stop was a hotel that had an amazing view of the bay.

"How many rooms would you like?" the young girl at the front desk asked me.

Just before I answered, I saw her glance to the flock. They were sitting on the couches in the lobby. Then, I realized it wasn't just the flock she was staring at; it was Fang.

"Two. Next to each other," I stated firmly. That seemed to bring her attention back to me.

"A-alright," she stuttered. "How many nights?"

"One, for now," I said, a little softer this time, but still with some edge.

I handed her the Max Ride card and she swiped it through the machine.

"Enjoy your stay," she smiled as she handed back the card and door keys. Once again, her gaze landed on Fang. I narrowed my eyes at her as my blood boiled.

iWait! Why am I acting like this?i/ I mentally kicked myself.

"Alright, guys," I said as I joined the flock. "Girls in 514. Boys in 515."

I handed one key to Fang, and we led the kids to the rooms. Once inside, Nudge and I checked the room out as Angel flopped onto one of the beds. Nudge ran straight to the back of the room and screeched, "Oh my gosh! There's a balcony! And look at the view! It's so beautiful! I wish we could live here."

She stepped out on the balcony and continued rambling. Somewhere in her rant, I knew Gazzy was investigating their balcony because Nudge said, "Oh, Gazzy! Isn't this amazing?!"

Angel was lying on the bed with Celeste wrapped tightly in her arms. She was worn out. I wished we could just save the world and be done with it. I hated that we all had to travel constantly with no hope for a normal life.

"It's okay, Max," Angel mumbled, looking at me with sleepy eyes.

I smiled weakly at her and sat next to her. Gently stroking her hair out of her face, I whispered, "Get some rest, sweetie!"

There was a light tap on the door, so I quietly walked over to sneak a peak through the peep hole. Fang.

"Hey," I whispered after stepping into the hall, leaving the door cracked open behind me.

"Gazzy and Nudge are getting hungry," he said. "They'll probably come tell you in a second."

I gave him a confused look, and he continued, "Working on my new ability."

"Sounds like you're starting to get the hang of it," I smiled.

He shrugged just as Iggy, Gazzy, and Nudge came out of their rooms.

_**Fang POV**_

"Max, can we please go get come food, now?" the Gasman and Nudge said simultaneously.

Max gave me a face that was both shocked and annoyed. "You sure you aren't reading minds instead?" she asked me jokingly.

"C'mon," I replied. "Let's hit the store."

"Wait!" Max stated. "Someone needs to stay here with Angel."

Iggy raised a hand and said, "I'll stay!"

"I'll hang out here, too!" the Gasman grinned.

I rolled my eyes, knowing those two would plot something while we were out.

"I wanna go to the store with you, Max! Please!" Nudge pleaded with Max.

"Okay," Max nodded. "Ig, we'll be back soon. You're in charge. And no funny business! Got it?"

"Yea, yea," Iggy mumbled and Gazzy saluted Max.

Max shook her head before stalking on down the hall, and Nudge and I followed.

There was a store not far down the street, so we walked. The three of us went up and down each aisle, filling the cart quickly.

The store was kind of busy, so the lines were backed up. I kept catching glimpses of everyone's emotions. One after another. Some at the same time. All different kinds. Happy, angry, annoyed, fidgety, scared, upset, excited, impatient…mostly impatient. It was giving me a headache. I rubbed my temples, trying to concentrate on my own emotions and push everyone else's out.

"Are you okay?" Max whispered, lightly placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Yea," I sighed. "I'm fine."

Max narrowed her eyes at me, knowing I wasn't telling her the truth, so I made sure not to look at her until we were outside.

_**Max POV**_

I hated when Fang didn't tell me when something was wrong. I figured he might have told me if there weren't a bunch of people around us, but it still bothered me.

Finally, we got through the line and out the door. Once we reached the hotel, we fixed some sandwiches and ate in our room.

Angel giggled. It couldn't have been my mind she was reading; I wasn't really thinking about anything she'd find funny.

"That's sweet, Iggy," she smiled.

Iggy was her victim this time. We all switched our focus from Angel to Iggy, who froze.

"Angel, please stay out of my mind," he said firmly.

Immediately, curiosity hit.

"What was he thinking about, Ang?" Nudge asked.

"Ella," she giggled again. Iggy turned bright red instantly.

"Ella?!" I asked shocked.

"ANGEL!" Iggy shouted, and she frowned.

"Iggy…" I began but was cut off.

Iggy gestured to Fang, "But Fang…"

"Fang?" I asked looking between the two.

"Ig," Fang sighed.

"Stop!" I finally shouted. "Iggy. Hallway. Now."


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok. I have 2 new reviewers! =D**

**Thank you!**

**PaRaMOrE...thanks for understanding about the number thing! ^_^**

**Here is another chapter, just like PaRaMOrE predicted! ;)**

**Maybe another one tonight. After Glee. ;)**

**CHAPTER 14  
**

_**Max POV**_

"Care to explain?" I asked Iggy sternly, my hands on my hips.

"Listen," he sighed. "I really like Ella, okay? And I was pretty sure she liked me, too. So, I asked Fang to help because, obviously, Angel-"

"So Fang helped you?!" I exclaimed. "Hold on one moment!"

I stepped back into my room and, as calmly as I could, said, "Fang, come here."

He looked puzzled at first and stood up. When he saw Iggy's face, he immediately knew he was ratted out.

I closed the door once he joined us, so the kids wouldn't have to hear the argument.

"Tell me everything!" I demanded with anger and my arms crossed over my chest. "What did you two do?"

"Ig, you didn't," Fang said disapprovingly.

"Sorry, dude," Iggy sighed with a frown. "It slipped."

"Hello?!" I said, growing angrier by the second. "You better start explaining yourselves before I kick both of your butts from here to the middle of next week!"

Iggy took a deep breath and began, "Well, I told you the first part. Anyway, Fang agreed to help me out using his new ability, and then…"

"You agreed to help him ask my sister out?" I asked Fang.

He rolled his eyes and said, "It's not going to hurt anyone, Max."

"It's…It's…" Dang it! Words…words… "Weird!" That would have to work.

"Max-" they both started to say.

"I need to think. Be back later," I said and stormed toward the staircase.

I ran straight for the roof. Once I barged through the door, I almost snapped out my wings to take off, but decided against it. It was still daytime in a huge tourist spot. Not a great idea!

I must've been up there for an hour, just thinking of everything that happened in my crazy life, when Angel poked her little blond head through the door.

"Max?" she asked, stepping onto the roof.

"Hey, honey," I smiled. "What do you need?"

"Max, don't be mad at Iggy and Fang," she sighed as she sat down next to me.

"Sweetheart, I…"

"No," she interrupted. "You don't really understand. You've never seen the way Iggy and Ella are together. And Fang was just trying to help them. He never meant to hurt you. Neither of them did."

I let out a sigh and shook my head. "It's just weird. Iggy's like my brother. And Ella IS my sister."

Angel laughed and said, "Max, how do you think Iggy feels about you and Fang?"

"Slow down!" I retorted quickly. "Fang and I…"

"Iggy thinks it's weird with you guys," she continued as if I had never even interrupted. "But he would rather you two be happy."

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Angel was well beyond her years here. If anyone else had a conversation like this with her, they'd never know she was barely seven.

She grinned at me and said, "Thanks, Max. Now, can you please go apologize to them? They really are upset that you got mad."

Next thing I knew, I was losing to Bambi eyes. Yet again!

We went back downstairs to the rooms. Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy were in the girls' room watching a movie. I was never one to give apologies, but I guess I had to give it a shot.

"Hey, Ig," I said quietly.

"Max," he said sitting straight up. "Look, I'm…"

"No, Ig," I said with a slight laugh. "Don't say you're sorry. I'm the one who's sorry! You and Ella have every right to be together."

"Thanks, Max," he smiled.

"Yea," I replied. "Where's Fang?"

"Our balcony," he said, nodding toward the back door.

I went into the guys' room and to the back door. With a deep breath, I opened the door…

_**Fang POV**_

I was sitting on the stone wall that lined the sides of the balcony of our hotel room. Standing, the wall would come to about my waist.

The sun was setting over the bay as I watched and thought about the day.

The door opened and Max stepped out onto the balcony with me.

"Hey," she half smiled. "Iggy said I could find you out here. He and the others are watching a movie in the other room."

"Cool," I replied, looking back over the bay.

"Fang…" she said softly.

At that moment, I felt a pang of sorrow. And…love? I was feeling Max's emotions. Did she love the sunset? Did she love…me?

"Yea?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," she answered. Wait, she apologized to me?

"Sorry?" I asked with a puzzled look.

"For getting mad at you earlier," she said, leaning on the rail, looking over the water.

This wasn't like Max at all.

"Don't sweat it," I said. I kind of deserved it. I did go behind her back to help her sister and someone like a brother to her get together.

She met my gaze and I saw the sorrow that I had felt a moment ago.

"Max, don't beat yourself up," I stated. "It's cool."

"I wonder if I'll ever get used to you reading my emotions like that," she said, mostly to herself, as she turned back to face the bay.

"Don't know," I shrugged. "Maybe when I get used to being able to read everyone's emotions."

She laughed and I felt the need to ask her something.

"Max…" I started almost inaudibly.

She froze and I felt her anger flood through me.

"What…" I began, but then I saw it. Flyboys, in San Francisco, flying right for us.

"We have to warn the others," I said out of the side of my mouth.

"Let's move!" she said at the same time. "Make a run for it through the lobby and towards the woods."

We jumped the space between the balconies with ease and ran through the back door of the girls' room to get the others.

It was going to be another fight for our lives.

**I wanted to say, one more time, that I appreciate the ideas you guys are giving me! :)  
I would also like to reiterate that I will try to incorporate those ideas, but it all depends on time.**

**Thank you once again! :)**

**((I really like smiley faces...if you haven't noticed. ^_^ ))**


	15. Chapter 15

**The rant of the night:**

**(Again...you don't really have to read this. It's not really important. Just me rambling...)**

**Hopefully, you all tuned in to Glee tonight. It was fantastic! I will mention it a little more at the end of the chapter. I will warn you now, I'm going to talk a little about the episode, so if you haven't seen it but plan on watching it, there will be spoilers!!**

**Now, onward to the story!**

**=D**

**CHAPTER 15**

_**Max POV**_

How did they find us? Did the voice lead us into a trap? No time to think!

Fang and I had burst into the room, grabbing a few things that could be useful and throwing it into a bag.

"What's going on?" Iggy" asked panicked.

"Flyboys!" I said quickly, anger filled in that one word.

At that, the others were up and moving.

"Out the front and to the nearest woods," I instructed as we dashed down the hall. "U and A from there."

Just as we reached the door to the stairwell, two Flyboys crashed through the window on the opposite end of the hall.

"MOVE!" I shouted. "I'll meet you down there!"

"Max, no!" Angel cried.

"GO!" I yelled again. "Get out of here!"

There was no more time for arguments because the Flyboys were merely feet away. One darted forward, but I dodged to the side before swinging a fist to hit his weak spot in his back. He fell apart at my feet as I whirled around to get the other one. I was too late to dodge the kick that landed on the side of my head. It spun me around as I fell to the floor. I was struggling to force myself back to my feet to battle the Flyboy, but Fang beat me to it. I wasn't even off the ground when Fang did a flying kick right into its chest.

"C'mon!" Fang demanded, offering me his hand. "Get up!"

He pulled me to my feet quickly as two more Flyboys came through the already-smashed window.

We practically flew down the stairs and out the front door. The others were still running for the woods, closely followed by Fang and myself.

I glanced back at the sky to see how many more were coming.

"About ten more!" I called ahead. That was problem #1: Flyboys in San Francisco. It would be hard to fight without making a scene.

Finally, we reached the woods. We made sure to move far enough in before taking off to avoid getting spotted.

Gazzy and Angel unfurled their wings, waiting for a signal to take off.

"We lost about three in the woods," Iggy declared. "I heard them smash into the trees."

The others stared at me, waiting for the plan. There was problem #2: I didn't have a plan ready.

"Max!" Nudge practically shouted. "We can't keep running!"

"Right," I agreed. "You, Gazzy, and Angel get out of here! Nudge, you have to get them to safety!"

She was twelve. She was ready for this.

With a nod, she snapped out her wings. "Where should we go?" she asked in her tough voice. She was really growing up.

"Top of the Golden Gate," I decided and tossed her the bag. "It's dark, now. You should get up there easily without being seen. Any sign of trouble, have Angel send us a warning and someone will come for you!"

"Got it!" she said and the three of them flew through the treetops.

"Fang and Iggy," I said quieter. "We have to fight."

_**Fang POV**_

Iggy, Max, and I watched the younger kids fly away, making sure they weren't followed by Flyboys.

Luckily, the scientists hadn't improved the Flyboys' designs yet. These ones were the simple Eraser look-alikes with the disgusting Eraser skin pasted on. Max told us about the weak point in their lower back. They also weren't smart enough to fly over the trees to get us. Instead, they were sloppily avoiding flying right into the trees behind us.

"Get ready, Ig," Max said only loud enough for the three of us to hear.

"I can hear them," he muttered. "They make a lot of noise. Shouldn't be too hard to find 'em."

We tensed as they quickly closed the distance between us. The first one was aimed right at Iggy. Just before it reached him, Iggy managed to sidestep and brought a roundhouse kick to its weak spot.

Two more followed immediately, ready to attack us again. One was moving toward Max, the other for me. Behind them, were another two Flyboys.

"Fang," Max muttered. "Kicking and Screaming."

I gave a nod that would be imperceptible by anyone else. "Kicking and Screaming" was an attack we made up as kids when we were at the School. When they set the Erasers on us, we formed a few attack plans and slapped random names to them.

"One," I breathed and we both jumped into fighting stances.

"Two," Max said a little louder. With that, we started running toward our attackers.

"Three!" we shouted at the same time.

Everything happened quickly from there. Max stepped in front of me, facing me, arms crossed at her wrists in front of her. I grabbed a hold of her hands and spun her around to gain momentum. As we came back around, I released my grasp and she shot her legs out straight for the nearest enemy.

The impact sent them crashing into another Flyboy. That's what we like to call killing two stones with one bird! **(AN: Ok. I really enjoyed that line. Sorry. haha.)**

The third Flyboy dodged the attack surprisingly. Max just barely missed it as it moved out of the way gracefully. I guessed that not all of them were the older models by its movements.

It managed to cuff me on the cheek, causing me to stumble back a few steps. As it came back in for another face shot, I ducked out of the way and shot my leg under its feet. It went down on its stomach, and I jumped on its back at the base of its spine. Thank goodness for weak spots!

The fourth Flyboy in that attack went straight to Iggy. He, too, was caught off guard and took a punch to the gut. His breath came out in a whoosh as he fell back.

**(AN: keep in mind, the attack with the four Flyboys happened at the same time. So, basically, Iggy and Fang were being attacked at the same time…not one after the other…ok…continue)**

Max jumped back to help Iggy. She grabbed a branch that had fallen from a tree during the previous attack and smashed it against the Flyboys head. The branch snapped but left one heck of a dent on the Flyboy's head, leaving it too damaged to fight back.

"Max!" I shouted as another one came behind her, slashing a metal claw across her back.

She screeched in pain and fell forward. Iggy caught her just in time, and I slammed a foot into its back.

One more to go!

I whipped around, expecting it to be in my face by now. Instead, it was flying away in the opposite direction.

"Ugh! It got away!" Max said.

I didn't need my newest ability to know how much pain she was in. Her voice made it apparent that she was still in a lot of pain.

We took stock of our injuries before finding the others.

Iggy was mostly unharmed. A few minor scratches here and there.

Max had twisted her ankle during our attack. Not to mention the scratch across her back. Fortunately, her wings were unharmed.

I had a nice bruise on my cheek and some minor cuts and bruises.

Finally, we flew back to the bridge to find the kids.

**Alright. This is where the spoilers for tonight's Glee episode comes in!**

**If you plan on watching it and don't want it ruined, do NOT read the next section. You can read the last thing, if you so choose.**

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**Ok. Those of you still with me...**

**I knew Puck was going to sing "Sweet Caroline" to Rachel. I don't know how I knew. I just did. lol**

**I think they looked cute together! I kinda like them together more than Finn and Rachel. But my dreams were crushed by the end of the episode. lol**

**Oh well, win some, lose some. Right?**

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**Anyway, I'll post another chapter sometime tomorrow. Or two. Or three. I don't know. We'll see what kind of mood I'm in. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**All afternoon I thought it was Friday. I dont' know why. It's kind of irritating, though.**

**Oh well. There's life kicking me in the butt again. haha**

**So I learned that you can only have 15 chapters in the Document Manager thingy. Well, at least that's what it told me when I tried uploading this chapter. But yea, now I have to delete the old files so I can add new ones. This site is kind of confusing...**

**Alright. I guess it's time for the story!**

**Enjoy!**

**=D**

**CHAPTER 16**

_**Max POV**_

The flight back to the bridge was short but painful. The scratch on my back was right between my wings. With each stroke, it felt as though the cut was catching on fire. My head felt light, like it was spinning.

"Max, you okay?" Fang asked from below.

"Yea," I winced.

I know he knew I was lying. With or without his ability, he could see right through me when I lied.

"Max!" Angel and Nudge screamed in unison.

"Guys!" Gazzy yelled at the same time.

I smiled seeing that the kids were dancing around with joy.

"Are you all okay?" I asked as we landed, just to be sure.

My landing was really sloppy and unbalanced. Once my head slowed down from its spinning, Angel darted toward me and hugged me tightly. Instantly, my head became light again and my vision fuzzy. Just as I went to hug her back, she pulled away quickly, fear painted on her face.

She stared at her hands, and I started to ask, "Angel, what's wrong…"

I glanced down to her hands as well, holding my head to stop it from spinning. Then, I noticed Angel's hands were soaked. They were red.

"What happened?" I tried asking through clenched teeth. "Where are you bleeding?"

Angel's eyes were filled with tears, which my mind was barely registering.

"I'm not," she replied quietly. "I-I think…"

Then, my mind blanked out as everything around me faded to black.

_**Fang POV**_

During our flight back to the bridge, I glanced up at Max. She was clearly in pain. I felt some of the pain, but I felt more fear than anything else from her.

"Max, you okay?" I asked.

"Yea." That reply was all I needed to know that she was in more pain than I thought.

When the kids came into view, Nudge and Angel screamed, "Max!"

"Guys!" the Gasman yelled.

"Are you all okay?" Max asked.

Her words were strained, and her landing was horrible.

Angel ran to Max while Nudge and Gasman crashed into me and Iggy.

"Angel, what's wrong?" Max asked Angel.

She was sounding worse. We all turned to Max and Angel to see what the problem was. Angel was staring at her hands in fear. That's when I noticed it. Angel's hands were dripping with blood.

"What happened? Where are you bleeding?" Max managed to ask, clenching her teeth in an attempt to hide her pain.

The tears fell from Angel's eyes quickly as she said, "I'm not. I-I think…"

Before she could finish, Max passed out. Her eyes fluttered for a moment until they finally closed. She began falling backward, but I caught her before she fell from the bridge.

"Max!" I shouted.

"What's going on?" Iggy asked worried.

Nudge whispered through tears, informing Iggy of the situation. Angel kneeled down next to Max, still crying. I tried giving her a comforting smile, but I don't think it worked.

"Max, come on!" I breathed, brushing away the hair from her face.

I realized, then, that the arm I had under her was cold and wet. She'd torn the cut on her back open.

"Iggy!" I yelled. "Can you do anything to help?"

Iggy dropped down beside me as I carefully flipped Max on her side.

_Stay with me, Max! Come on!_

Very gently, Iggy's hands glided across her injury, his face horrified.

"We'll need to do something to stop the bleeding and fast!" he stated.

"How do we do that?" I asked frantically.

"Oh!" Nudge declaimed. "We need strips of cloth. Then, we have to use them to apply pressure to the wound!"

I stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out where she got this information.

"Right!" Iggy agreed. "I need to hold her feet up while you all do that!"

"Fang, give us your pocket knife!" Gazzy demanded.

I tossed it to him and asked, "How do you guys know all of this?"

Angel giggled quietly and said, "We did this for you."

I gave her a puzzled look, but soon remembered when I practically bled to death on a beach. I shuddered at the thought of having to take Max to a hospital.

"Fang…" Max groaned.

"Max!" I whispered back with some relief.

"I'm sorry," she said, gasping for her breath.

"Shhh! Don't!" I said and pressed my lips to her forehead. "Just stay with me."

Nudge and Gasman hurried over with the cloth, which was one my t-shirts cut into strips, and proceeded to press them to Max's back. Max grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut tightly and clenching her fists until they were white.

"Please be okay, Max," Angel cried.

Max passed out again, but the bleeding was finally starting to cease.

"Guys, we need to get Max back to Dr. Martinez," I exclaimed, taking charge.

"How are we gonna do that? Gasman asked.

"Ig, can you get her bandaged up?" I asked Iggy as calmly as possible.

"Yea! But there's no telling how much it will do right now," he answered.

I nodded, "Ok. That's all we have right now. Then, we'll take her to her mom."

**Ok. I know that was a lot like the situation with Fang in the second book. But, as I [think I] mentioned, this was my first MR story.**

**Anyway, there's a bit of a twist in the next(?) chapter. I'm tyring to remember. The point is that there's a little twist in it.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Ok. I want to let everyone know that I probably won't update on the weekends. When I go home on the weekends, I don't get on the computer much. So yea…I'll add, like, 3 or so chapters tonight to make up for it. ^_^**

**Enjoy!**

**=D**

**CHAPTER 17**

_**Fang POV**_

We decided to call Dr. Martinez before taking off for her place.

"Hello?" she answered her phone.

"Dr. Martinez, it's Fang," I said calmly.

"Oh. Hello, Fang," she relied. "How is everything? Did you all finally make it to San Francisco, seeing as no one called me."

"No time to talk," I stated, getting right to the point. "Max is hurt. She…"

"What happened? Can I talk to her? Where is she?"

"She's unconscious," I sighed. "Iggy did all he could to bandage her up, but she needs medical attention."

Dr. Martinez sounded on the verge of tears. "Oh no. Can't you get her to a hospital? Oh, never mind. They'd make matters worse. How long will it take you to get here? Should I meet you somewhere?"

"We can be there in the _early_ morning. Maybe 1 or 2," I said, almost as a question.

"I'll be waiting for you at my office."

"Thanks!"

"Please be careful!" she demanded.

"Yea," I replied. "See you soon."

After hanging up, I carefully picked Max up, keeping the bandages in place as best as I could.

"Let's go, guys!" I called out and snapped my wings open.

(3 hours later…1 hour to go)

_Only one more hour, Max. Hold on for one more hour_

"Fang," Angel thought to me. "Will Max make it?"

"Yea, Angel," I thought, forcing a smile. "She'll be fine. Don't worry."

"I'm scared," she sobbed in my thoughts.

"Everything will be fine," I thought reassuringly. "I promise!"

She sniffled, fighting tears, and nodded to me.

"That's it, Ang," I smiled again. "Stay strong. For Max."

(Another hour later)

We finally arrived at Dr. Martinez's office, landing right behind the building. Nudge ran forward, hammering her fists on the door.

My arms were tired, but I wasn't going to let Max go until I absolutely had to. Dr. Martinez swung the door open, and we all raced inside.

"The door on the right, Fang. Everything is ready to go," she instructed.

The Gasman opened the door for me, and I walked forward, already feeling sick from the atmosphere. I gently laid Max onto the table on her stomach. Ella was in the room and crying her eyes out. Iggy went to her side and put an arm around her. She wrapped both arms around him and cried into his chest. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel stood with them, waiting and fighting fear.

Taking one of Max's hands in mine, I looked at Dr. Martinez and said, "She's still breathing, but she's been out for a little more than 4 hours."

Dr. Martinez went right to work. She carefully stripped the temporary bandage from Max's back and her face fell. "How did this happen?"

"Flyboys got her," I said quietly. I still felt awful that I wasn't able to stop the stupid thing from hurting Max. "Flying right after the attack didn't help it."

"I see that," she frowned. "All I can do now is stitch the wound and let her rest. The rest is up to her."

I gently squeezed Max's hand, hoping to get some kind of reaction. No such luck.

With a sigh, I asked, "How long will it take?"

"I'm not sure," Dr. Martinez said regretfully. "You all heal so quickly, so her back should heal within the next few days, maybe sooner."

She was scared, worried, upset…every kind of sorrow from a mother that could be thrown together.

I nodded and looked back down to Max. She looked so helpless and vulnerable; two things Max has never been!

"Ella, why don't you, Nudge, Gasman, and Angel go set up some beds in the lobby," Dr. Martinez said to the others. "The office is closed tomorrow, so you can all stay here tonight."

The kids put on their best happy/excited faces, given the standing circumstances, and walked out to the lobby area. Iggy walked to the other side of Max's bed and examined her injuries again. Dr. Martinez attached the little heart monitor suction cups to Max in various places and the machine whirred to life.

"Iggy, I'm going to start stitching Max up in a moment," Dr. Martinez stated. "Could you please ask the younger kids to wait out there? You can come back in when you're done, but I don't want them to see this."

Iggy nodded and slipped out the door. My eyes stayed locked on Max.

"It was very brave of you to bring Max all the way here in her condition," Dr. Martinez said quietly with a small smile.

I nodded very slightly, but I knew she caught it.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Iggy came back in and said, "They're setting up beds, now."

"Thank you, Iggy," Dr. Martinez replied. "I'm just about to start. I'll need the two of you to hold her wings out."

Iggy walked to Max's other side and we gently held her wings out of the way. Dr. Martinez, very carefully, began stitching the gash. I couldn't watch that happen to Max, so I closed my eyes and focuses my attention on the sound of the heart monitor. It was a little slow for us bird kids, but there was still a steady rhythm to it.

What seemed like hours later, but was only about twenty minutes, Dr. Martinez said, "Alright. That should do it. She shouldn't fly for a little while, but she should be okay once it is healed."

Although her façade displayed relief, I felt her fear hidden fear.

"I'll go tell the others," Iggy announced.

"Iggy, Fang," Dr. Martinez whispered with a pained expression. "There is something you should know."

I raised an eyebrow, and Iggy stopped to listen.

"Max could…" she stammered. "She could…slip into a coma."


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

_**Fang POV**_

Iggy and I froze. "A coma?" I asked in disbelief.

"What can we do to prevent that?" Iggy asked. "Fang and I can give her blood like Max and I did for Fang. What do we have to do?"

Dr. Martinez shook her head and looked down at her shoes. "It's not that simple, I'm afraid."

"What then?" I demanded. "What can we do?"

There were tears forming in her eyes. She glanced between Iggy and me and said, "Wait. We have to wait and see. But the chances are slim. The only reason I believe it's possible is because of how long she's already been out. She shouldn't be out this long. She hasn't lost enough blood to cause that."

"We can't let the kids know," I declared.

Iggy nodded and Dr. Martinez added, "I agree. As I said, the chances are slim, so I don't want the kids to get worked up over nothing."

"Do you think Angel already heard?" Iggy asked.

I rubbed my forehead with one hand, the other still holding Max's limp hand. I let out a sigh and said, "I really hope not."

Dr. Martinez and Iggy walked out to the lobby to let the others know they could come back in.

Soon after, the others rushed back in with Iggy slowly following. The Gasman ran to my side, Nudge and Angel to the opposite side of Max's bed, and Ella and Iggy, who had an arm wrapped around Ella's shoulders, to the foot of her bed. Ella's eyes were blood-shot from crying.

Max wasn't as pale anymore and her heart monitor was already getting back up to pace. For the most part, they all looked a little more relieved. Everyone, that is, except for Angel. Angel's emotions were ranging from relieved, to sad, to confused.

"Fang?" Angel asked in my mind.

"Yes, Angel?" I thought back.

"Max won't really go into a coma, will she?" I decided that was where the grief came from.

"I don't think so, honey. Dr. Martinez says that it isn't even that likely," I thought reassuringly.

She nodded to me and wiped a fist across her eyes.

"What are we gonna do?" Gasman asked me with scared eyes.

"Wait," I replied. "Wait for Max to get better."

"How long will that be?" Nudge asked. "I mean, we heal really fast, so are we thinking tomorrow? Tonight? She is looking better already, but I doubt she'll be up by tonight. I mean, even mutant bird-kids can't heal that fast. But Max is strong. Maybe she can."

"How about we let Max sleep," I suggested, cutting Nudge off.

I held out a fist, and the others, including Ella, stacked their fists on top. Dr. Martinez stepped back in as everyone, minus Iggy, walked back out into the lobby. She did a few more check-ups to make sure Max was still stable.

"Hey, Ig," I said quietly.

"Yea?" he asked.

"I'll take watch tonight," I stated.

"All night?" he questioned. "I can take a watch."

"Nah," I shrugged. "I probably won't sleep much, anyway. If I need you, I'll wake you."

"Alright," he yawned and walked back into the lobby.

While Dr. Martinez was checking on Max, I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. When I came out, I had to walk back through the lobby to get to Max's room again. Everyone was settled down for the nearly-sleepless night we were all expecting. Nudge was lying on one of the three couches. The Gasman was sprawled out on the floor, blankets wrapped around his legs. Iggy was sitting on the other couch with Ella, who was stretched across the couch with her head in Iggy's lap.

I found four of the five kids. Angel. Where was Angel?

I entered Max's room where Angel was talking to Dr. Martinez about Max.

"Fang," Angel said with a little smile. "Dr. Martinez says that I can help her see if Max is okay!"

"How?" I asked Dr. Martinez.

"Well," she began. "If Angel can find any of Max's thoughts, she may be able to talk to her. If Max shows any signs of awareness or response to Angel, then, she should be back with us soon."

I looked back to Angel and gave her a nod that said "go for it."

She locked her eyes on Max, obviously in deep concentration. After a moment, a smile spread across her face.

"What is it, Ang?" I asked curiously.

"I heard her thoughts," she replied.

"And?" Dr. Martinez pressed.

"She's really tired," Angel stated. "And her back hurts."

"Did she respond to you?" I asked.

She nodded excitedly and replied, "Yes. But she just wants to sleep more.

I took Max's hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Angel's grin widened and, in my head, whispered, "Max is thinking about you, now."

"Thank you, Angel," I answered aloud. "You did a great job. Why don't you go get some rest?"

"Goodnight, Fang," she said out loud and gave me a hug. "Goodnight, Dr. Martinez."

After she hugged Dr. Martinez, she skipped out of the room, completely at ease. I really hope we can stay that way. At least, for a little while longer.


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

_**Max POV (after she blacked out…and they were flying her to her mom's)**_

The wind was rushing past me, but my wings weren't moving. That was about when I noticed a few things:

First, someone was carrying me. Who that someone was, I had no clue.

Second, my eyes would not open no matter how hard I tried.

Third, my brain was not making _any_ connections to anything.

I'm not sure how long I attempted to focus on these things. As I said, my mind wasn't making sense of anything.

It felt like days when the wind that was pushing by me finally slowed until it was completely gone.

That was about when my synapses started connecting. Things were making sense, finally!

I mentally took stock of everything that happened and was still happening.

The person that carried me to wherever I was, I presumed, was Fang. I recalled his strong, wiry arms holding me tight to his chest. Only, his arms weren't as wiry as they used to be. They were a little more muscular.

Okay, puzzle number one: check!

Problem number two…

I still couldn't force my eyes to open. At first, I thought I was trapped in an isolation tank again, but that thought was shoved aside immediately!

So, problem number two was still under investigation.

Before I moved on to another issue, I felt pain shoot up my spine. I was suddenly in a lot of pain. My back was on fire. The pain, I figured, was what kept me in the semiconscious state I was stuck in.

Problems two and three: check!

Unfortunately, I discovered problem number four. I still had no idea where I was, or how long I've been out. Everything felt like a painful dream. Or nightmare.

Suddenly, I felt something pinching my already sore back. I faintly felt something in my hand, but that's all I was sure of.

The pinching was ebbing away, slowly but surely, until it finally stopped. My back still hurt like hell, but it was better than before.

Practically a life time later (again…no sense of time still), another realization hit me.

I couldn't hear anything, or anyone, for that matter, going on around me. I hadn't heard anyone during any of this crazy nightmare.

"Max," someone whispered in my head.

I wasn't sure if I'd actually heard anything or not.

"Max, you did hear me!" the small, angelic voice said with pure joy. "Max! It's Angel!"

"Oh, Angel," I sighed in relief to hear another voice.

"It's good to hear you, too," she giggled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I'm in a lot of pain right now, and I'm really tired."

I didn't realize how tired I was until then. "I just want to sleep."

"Okay, Max," she said. I could practically see her smiling face. "Goodnight."

"Night, Angel," I whispered.

Someone squeezed my hand before I drifted off. I immediately knew it was Fang. I was relieved to know that Fang was there with me. Watching out for me. Protecting me.

***

I woke up lying on my stomach, and, let me tell you, it was really uncomfortable! I shifted to role over, but quickly decided against it when it caused me so much pain. That was when I went into panic mode.

I opened my eyes carefully as the too-bright lights burned them. I tried to look around while my eyes were focusing, but it didn't do me much good.

"Max," someone whispered close to me.

Finally, my vision cleared, and I saw Fang staring at me as if I just rose from the dead. Again, I tried to move, but quit once the pain sparked.

"Max," Fang whispered soothingly, brushing some hair out of my face. "Max, you're okay."

"More or less," I groaned. My voice was raspy and quiet. "What happened? Where are we?"

I couldn't remember anything at all. The last thing I remembered was giving Angel a hug on the bridge and, then, nothing.

"A Flyboy got you. When we flew back to the bridge, you turned a minor injury into a major problem," he said. His face was impassive, but his eyes were horrified. "You passed out, so we brought you here."

"And where is here, exactly?" I asked, trying to grasp everything he was saying.

"Your mom's office," he smiled. This triggered an unfortunate domino effect…

That smile made my heart skip. That skip made the heart monitor, which I was previously unaware of, beep a little faster. The quick-paced beep made me blush. My blushing made Fang's smile grow. And repeat…

"Oh, Max!" my mom screeched. "You're awake!"

She came into my peripheral with tear-filled eyes and the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her.

"Yea," I smiled weakly.

"I'll go let the others know!" she replied excitedly.

Once again, I attempted moving. This time, Fang gently forced me to stay by pressing his hand on my shoulder. "Max, don't do that. You'll open your stitches."

"Stitches?" I asked curiously.

Before he answered, the others crashed through the door with various greetings and much excitement.

I tried smiling, but my eyes were drifting shut again.

"Alright, guys," Fang said. "Max still needs rest."

They all sighed and grumbled before quietly leaving the room.

"Thank you," I mouthed to Fang.

The last thing I felt before I slowly fell asleep was his warm, soft lips brush against my forehead.

***

**Ok. Just to clarify some things here:**

**Max couldn't remember anything when she woke up because I assume that you don't remember much after you pass out. (I can't say from experience, but that's what I would figure.)**

**Umm…I guess I only had to clarify something…not some thing**_**s**_**. Haha.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I was only going to post 17, 18, and 19, but leaving it at Chapter 19 is dumb. I have OCD, so leaving it at an odd number like that was really bothering me.**

**So here's 20 as well. :)**

**CHAPTER 20**

_**Fang POV**_

It was such a relief when Max woke up. She was passed out for a good 15 hours before waking up for all of three minutes. Then, she passed out again. Point aside, she woke up!

Dr. Martinez returned every thirty minutes or so to check up on her daughter and give her some pain medication.

"Fang, if she wakes up again within an hour," Dr. Martinez stated, glancing at her watch. "Her pain meds may still be in effect. She may be a little delusional."

I chuckled at the thought and memory of what happened the last time Max was on pain medication. I would never forget the Valium incident…

While I was set adrift in my reminiscing, a knock came to the door before slowly opening.

The Gasman poked his head in the room and said, "Fang. How's Max?"

"Just fine," I said. "Still sleeping."

"That's good!" he grinned. "Do you think that…maybe…"

"What is it, Gaz?" I asked.

"Can we go out and fly?" he asked innocently.

That was one thing I hated about getting named the temporary leader. Max was so much better at telling them "no." I gave him a regretful, disapproving look and replied, "I don't know, Gasman."

"Please!" he begged. "There's a secluded field not far from here! We'll be careful! We're itching to get out!"

I sighed, understanding his point. None of us liked going too long without flying or stretching our wings.

"Alright," I said reluctantly. "But BE CAREFUL! And I want you back in an hour! Keep your guard up! Don't forget, we were attacked just yesterday!"

I wasn't entirely sure how much more he listened to after "alright." He punched a fist in the air and ran out saying, "Thanks, Fang! You're the best! We'll be careful! GUYS!"

I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. I hadn't slept a wink since we'd been here. I spent the entire night watching either Max or her heart monitor. Not long after the others left, I dozed off.

_Max POV_

I was sleeping until I woke up to an annoying beeping sound. It was quick and steady, but hard to sleep through. Finally, I remembered that I was attached to a heart monitor. It was a mystery why it hadn't fazed me until now. Other than that and the stitches, I was still a little confused on when we got my mom's office, or how long I'd been sleeping. The sun was shining through the blinds over the window, making the room too bright for me to sleep any longer.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I giggled quietly at the very first thing I saw. Fang.

He was sitting in the same chair he was in before, only, this time, he was fast asleep. His head was hung low, arms crossed over his chest, and legs outstretched, crossed at his ankles. I'll deny _ever_ saying this, but he looked so cute like that.

I watched him sleep for a little while longer until he picked his head up quickly and stared back at me.

_Fang POV_

While I was resting, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Someone was watching me. My head jolted up to see a grinning Max. I wondered if maybe she was still drugged up. I looked at the clock and saw that it had been almost two hours since she had pain meds. Maybe the loopiness lasted a while.

I remembered that the kids had gone out flying. "Angel?" I said in my head, trying to find if they were back.

Just then, as if to answer me, Angel's head popped out from behind the door.

"Max!" she shouted and dashed to Max's bed.

"Hi, sweetie!" Max laughed.

"Are you all better now?" she asked as she hugged Max gently.

Max nodded, but I saw the pain in her eyes. It should've been healing faster than this.

"She was pretty hurt, Fang," Angel thought to me in a "duh" tone.

"I know, Angel," I sighed back in my head. "Please, sweetheart, stay out of my thoughts. Okay?"

"Yea," she replied in my thoughts while looking at me with apologetic Bambi eyes. "Sorry, Fang."

I smiled to her, and she skipped to the door.

"I'm going to tell the others the good news!" she stated.

"Alright, but no more visitors for a little while," Dr. Martinez, who I had just realized was still in the room, replied. "You can all come see her in about twenty minutes, okay?"

"Thank you, Dr. Martinez," Angel nodded with a smile before leaving.

"Max, honey," Dr. Martinez said softly. "I'll be back in thirty minutes to give you some more medication for the pain."

Max nodded and Dr. Martinez left the room.

Twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes until the others came back in.

Twenty minutes to talk to Max about some important things that I'd been putting off…


	21. Chapter 21

**I'm really happy with how many hits this story is getting! :)**

**And thank you to all the reviews!! =D**

**I'll probably post another chapter tonight. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**=D**

**CHAPTER 21**

_**Max POV**_

I leaned back against my pillow, glad to be lying on my back again. Granted, it did hurt, but it was better to have finally moved again. My mom was going to give me more pain medication in thirty minutes. I guessed she'd been giving them to me since I got here.

Fang leaned closer to my bed, his head propped in his hands.

I let out a sigh and said, "And, here, I thought we would've been able to enjoy San Francisco."

Shrugging, he replied, "Guess we'll have to try again next time."

I gave a quiet laugh and shook my head. Fang scooted his chair closer to me and rested his arms on the edge of my bed.

"Max," he sighed and hesitated. "The other day…on the balcony…"

I honestly couldn't figure out where he was going with this. Flyboys tried to attack us on the balcony; what was there to talk about?

"Yea?" I pressed.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he replied quietly.

Uh oh. That never meant anything good. I gave him a look that said "continue."

"Well, for a little while, now, I've been catching some emotions of yours and…"

"What?!" I interjected. My heart monitor beeped a little faster while I blushed slightly.

"Not on purpose," he argued, holding his hand up innocently and leaning back.

"This is so unfair," I muttered, mostly to myself.

"What's not fair?" he asked curiously.

"My current lack of privacy," I groaned. "Between the mind-reader, the empath, and the heart monitor, I can't hide anything!"

He laughed and gave me a quick smile.

"And there goes my stupid heart monitor again!" I complained angrily. "Why am I still connected to this anyway? I'm not dying!"

"Sorry, Max," Fang chuckled before getting serious again. "Can we get back to our previous conversation?"

"About you reading my emotions?" I asked to make sure.

"On accident," he corrected me. "And yes."

Dang it! Why did he feel the need to talk about this now? Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do to get out of this.

"Continue," I sighed.

We sat quietly for a moment; Fang staring at his shoes, me staring at the ceiling.

"Well," Fang finally began. "I'm having trouble fully understanding all of it."

"What do you mean?" I asked looking at him.

He glanced at me, then toward the window. I knew he wanted to have this conversation elsewhere, but I couldn't go anywhere.

"I don't know," he replied quietly. "I wish I could understand you better. I get so many mixed emotions and reactions from you. I…I just…"

I blushed and it felt like my stomach dropped. I'd always been confused about "us," and, now, I made it worse for Fang.

He took my hand in his, and my heart audibly pounded.

"Max. Can you please just…" he said, slightly frustrated. "…Just talk to me. I've told you before, I can't take not knowing."

That was one thing I'd learned over the years: Fang hated being surprised. By anything!

I didn't know what to say to him.

"What do you want me to say, Fang?" That question carried a little bit of my anger and confusion with it. Fang caught that.

He shook his head and looked back to his shoes.

"I just want to know how you feel. About us. Why do you always run? Why do we always get jealous?" he groaned.

I squeezed his hand gently, trying to comfort him and show him I wasn't angry.

"I don't know, Fang," I whispered, looking back to the ceiling as if the answers were up there. "You probably know more than I do with your ability."

He nodded and looked back to me. The disappointment was obvious in his eyes for a second until he gave me a half smile.

"I'm sorry, Fang," I said under my breath.

_Fang POV_

We sat there quietly for quite some time. All the while, I kept her hand in mine.

Both of us were trying to figure everything out. I knew what Max told me was true. I could tell in her emotions, but more so in her eyes. I probably did know more about how she felt than she could decipher.

Unfortunately, that didn't mean I knew much about it.

Finally, the kids came crashing into the room, rushing to line her bed.

"Max!" Angel and Ella shouted simultaneously.

"How are you feeling?" Iggy asked Max.

"Ready to get out of this room," she joked.

Angel giggled in my head and asked, "So, are you and Max together, now?"

That question received a strange look. "What gave you that idea?" I asked in my head.

She glanced at my hand. The hand that was holding onto Max's hand.

"No," I said through thought. "We…I…I want her to know I'm here for her."

She giggled aloud, and I rolled my eyes. Thankfully, no one bothered questioning her random laughter.

Not long after, Dr. Martinez gave Max some medicine.

"Honey, if you think you can walk, we can take you back to my place," Dr. Martinez suggested.

Max's eyes lit up, and she replied, "Yea. Let's go!"

She struggled to sit up, so I helped her, placing my free hand on her lower back, just below her stitches.

"Guys, why don't you get everything together while I help Max up," I announced.

I was answered with "ok's" and "alright's" from the kids as they skipped out. Iggy followed, then, Dr. Martinez.

I wrapped my arm around Max's waist, while she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. When we were finally up, she tiredly rested her head on my shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

I smiled and kissed the top of her head before we left the room.


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

_**Max POV**_

Roughly two days later, my back finally healed.

"Alright, Max," my mom smiled as we stepped onto the back porch. "You should be able to fly with no problems now."

I gave her a nod and stretched out my wings. They were so sore from the lack of use. I continued shaking them out as I walked to the middle of the yard.

Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy raced past me and shot into the air, snapping their wings out impressively and flapping hard.

The sight was awe-inspiring, but the actual feeling is exhilarating.

Fang crept up to my side and smiled.

"Go for it, Max," he encouraged softly.

I smiled tentatively to him. Looking back to the sky, I saw the others waiting with anticipation.

"Here goes nothing," I whispered. I don't even know if Fang heard me.

I ran a few feet, leapt into the air, and gave a few powerful strokes.

The pain radiated through my spine and out the tips of my wings. Fighting that pain, I continued to work the muscles out. After a few minutes, the pain ceased, and Fang joined us.

Flying was exactly what I needed to relax. I mean, sure, I hadn't really done much of anything for the last two or so days, but that was just boring. Not relaxing.

This. This was relaxing. Incredible. Not to mention, fun!

The six of us flew around for another hour until my mom called us down for dinner.

_**Fang POV**_

Dinner was the same as always: six hungry bird-kids attacking their food, one talking mutant dog eating at the table, and two regular humans who no longer found any of this strange.

I was sitting across from Max, who seemed to be zoning out. I assumed the voice was talking to her because she was hardly touching her food for a good five minutes. Something was wrong.

"Max," I muttered, kicking her lightly under the table.

_**Max POV**_

There I was, simply enjoying my dinner, when the voice decided to pop in for a visit.

"You shouldn't stay here much longer, Maximum," the voice said.

I knew the voice was right, but we were in the freaking middle of dinner!

_Can I please just enjoy my meal with my family?_ I sneered back.

"Leave tonight," the voice stated. "Flyboys are tracking all of you."

_How?_ I demanded. _I don't have a chip anymore! We got rid of that a while ago!_

The voice went silent.

_Can_ _you at least tell me where we're going?_ I sighed in frustration.

"You should start heading back to the east coast."

That wasn't exactly helpful. Could the voice be anymore vague?

_So, like, Florida? Georgia? South Carolina?_

I swear the voice was laughing at me. "Not quite. You're needed a little further north."

Figures.

_Fine, Max. You're going to Virginia. The Lerner School for Gifted Children._

"What? Why?" I asked it.

"Max," Fang whispered as he kicked me, startling me back into reality.

He raised an eyebrow, and I mouthed "voice."

"Max?" Mom asked. "Will you be staying another night?"

"Can't," I frowned. "We're needed elsewhere."

The kids groaned and began complaining.

"Guys," I replied with a strong, yet sympathetic, tone. "I'm really sorry, but the voice said we have to move on."

I didn't want to straight out tell them that we were being tracked again. They should only have to worry about one thing at a time. Fang, however, would find out before we left. He may be able to make more sense of what the voice said than I can.

_**Fang POV**_

After dinner, Max told the others to start getting things together and ready to leave while she pulled me aside.

"Fang," she whispered, looking around to make sure no one else was around. "The voice told me that Flyboys are tracking us."

"What?" I whisper-shouted with surprise. "How?"

She shook her head and continued, "I'm not sure. I asked the voice, but it didn't respond."

I looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure this out.

"Fang," Max sighed looking up at me. "I don't have a chip anymore. We got rid of that. What if…what if…you…and the others…have a chip, too?"

That seemed like the only possible explanation. How else could they keep tracking us down?

"We'll figure it out, Max," I replied. "For now, I think it's time we get the heck out of here."

She nodded, and we joined the others in packing.

Next stop: Virginia. Wonderful.


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23**

_**Max POV**_

Flying from Arizona to Virginia takes forever! We made a few stops for food along the way and made it somewhere over Kentucky, just outside of Virginia.

"Yo," Fang said from above me.

I was speechless when I glanced up at him. The sun light shining behind him left him as a silhouette. A dark, mysterious silhouette. It was an amazing sight. I could only make out minor details of his face, like his dark eyes that seemed to look puzzled for some reason.

"Maybe because you're staring at him funny," Angel giggled in the midst of my thoughts.

What did she hear? What did I say? Oh no.

"It's not what you think, Angel," I thought back quickly. "Now, please, stay out of my thoughts."

She didn't say anything after that, but Fang did.

"What do you think we have to do over here?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied with a shrug. "The voice never said."

He gave me a nod and stared straight ahead of him, as if in deep thought.

Maybe I should take some time to think like that. Ha! If I had the time.

"Max," Gazzy whined. "Can we get some food?"

And that would be one of the many reasons why…

_**Fang POV**_

"Yo," I said, shifting so I was flying above Max so our wings beat in sync.

She looked up at me, but didn't speak. A faint smile crossed her lips, though, I wasn't sure that she was fully aware that she did. Then, her expression switched to surprised.

"What do you think we have to do over here?" I asked, breaking her out of her trance.

"I don't know. The voice never said," she said as she shrugged.

I nodded and looked back up. I don't know how Max put up with a voice in her head. I decided to take a chance at reading her emotions, and, surprisingly, it worked. She was a little stressed, frustrated, and very thoughtful. It also seemed like there was a longing for something, overpowering everything.

Then, there was hunger. Wait. That wasn't Max.

"Max," the Gasman said in a pleading voice. "Can we get some food?"

Max laughed softly, mostly to herself, and replied, "We're almost there. We'll land soon, fuel up, and head to that school, fully energized. Okay?"

_**Max POV**_

_You should all rest overnight before going to the school_, the voice stated.

"Are you going to tell me why?" I asked harshly in my head.

_All in due time, Maximum_, the voice replied calmly.

"No! Now!" I shout out loud.

I groaned in frustration while five heads turned in my direction.

"What is it, Max?" Nudge asked.

"The voice," I sighed and rubbed my temples. "It wants us to stay somewhere tonight and go in tomorrow."

"And that's bad?" she asked. "Because I think resting overnight could help. Since, you know, we've been flying all day, we could use a good rest. Oh! We should stay at a hotel that serves continental breakfast! That would be so…"

"Nudge, please! Ears!" Iggy interjected.

She smiled sheepishly, and I laughed, "Thanks, Ig!"

"Why do we have to wait until tomorrow?" Fang asked curiously.

"Voice wouldn't tell me. Hence, the random shouting," I said.

The side of his mouth quirked in a smile, which, in turn, made me smile. And blush.

Quickly looking away, I said, "Look out for a place to eat, everyone."

"On it!" Iggy called over the wind.

I rolled my eyes as I replied, "You know what I meant."

_**Fang POV**_

I didn't miss that blush on Max's cheeks before she turned away. That only made me smile more.

"Ooh! Let's go there," Angel cheered, pointing to a little fast food place.

"Alright. Is that cool with everyone?" Max asked.

Everyone agreed, and we began our arced descent into the woods. I landed first, then, the Gasman, Angel, Nudge, Iggy, and, finally, Max.

The Gasman grabbed Iggy's hand and began running out of the trees. Angel and Nudge laughed as they took off after them. Max and I laughed, not bothering to chase them.

When we came to the restaurant, the others were already inside, scanning the menu.

"Max, how much can we get?" Angel asked her excitedly.

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," Max grinned.

We stood there for a moment, deciding what to order, when someone else spoke up.

"Max?"

I knew that voice. I only wish it wasn't _his_ voice.

Sam.


	24. Chapter 24

**So, 23 left a cliffhanger...so I posted this one, too! :)**

**I'll post 25 later because I hate leaving it at a weird number.**

**I may post 26, too. We'll see.**

**CHAPTER 24**

_**Max POV**_

"Sam?" I asked in shock.

Sure enough, Sam was standing behind us.

The Sam from the actual school we went to in Virginia.

The Sam that I went on a date with _and kissed!_

The Sam that I ran over when we were trying to escape.

"What are you doing here?" he asked confused. "Last time I saw you, you knocked me over and literally flew away from 'school.'"

He made air-quotes when he said "school."

I blushed, slightly embarrassed, and replied, "Um, yea. Sorry about that. Let's keep the flying thing quiet, 'kay?"

"Sure, but you guys are becoming pretty famous," he stated with the warm smile I remembered from him.

I sighed and tried to think of something to say.

"We should get our food and head out," Fang said.

Fang's words sounded normal to anyone who hadn't known him all their lives, but, since I did, I heard the anger behind his statement.

"Couldn't you all stay a little longer?" Sam asked. "You know, to catch up?"

I didn't really see any harm in staying for a little while. We had to wait until tomorrow to do anything at the Lerner's School anyway.

"I guess," I shrugged. "We'll order our food and join you in a second."

"Great," Sam smiled.

Sam hadn't changed much, but something felt different. I could tell that we'd only be friends and nothing more, but that didn't bother me.

Gee, that was easy. Why can't I just decide that easily with Fang?

_Are you seriously asking that?_ the Voice chimed in, making me mentally groan.

"Max," Fang said quietly but sternly. "Do you think this is such a great idea?"

_**Fang POV**_

"Max, do you think this is such a great idea?" I asked harshly.

Did she really want to just sit down and enjoy a pleasant lunch with someone she once thought was an Eraser?! I mean, he didn't look like the Eraser type, but you never can tell.

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, becoming angrier.

"What about him possibly being an Eraser?" I retorted.

"Relax, Fang," she demanded. "We can handle it if he is one."

I rolled my eyes at her and turned back to the menu.

At that point, I was starting to hope Sam was an Eraser just so I could kick his—

"Fang, you…" Angel began in my mind.

"Angel, please," I mentally sighed in frustration. "You know better."

She gave me a small smile before turning her attention back to the counter.

We finally got our orders, which, individually, was enough food for at least four teenagers. Well, I think it would be. Point aside; it was more food than your average person would order.

Sam was seated at a table with, I presume, his family. Max led us to a table next to his, and she sat in the seat nearest to him. I sat across from her, Iggy next to me, and the Gasman next to him. Nudge was across from the Gasman, leaving Angel between Nudge and Max.

Sam's family told him they'd meet him at the car while they went to the store next door to the restaurant.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked Sam after his family left. "I thought you lived on the other side of Virginia."

Sam chuckled a little and said, "I did, but after our school closed, my parents thought it would be best for us to move away from that place."

Max smiled and laughed, too. What was with her? That wasn't funny. Or something to smile about. So the kid moved. Big deal!

"What about everyone else?" Max asked.

Sam shrugged, "Don't really know."

I was finished playing her game. It was time to change it up a bit…

_**Max POV**_

Here I was, having a simple, polite conversation with a friend, when Fang decided to open his big mouth.

"What happened to Lissa?" Fang asked curiously.

Without even meaning to, I started glaring at him. Why did he ask about _her_? Did he still have feelings for the Red-Haired Wonder or something? What about everything he's done for me lately?

Dang it! I sound like a jealous idiot! Ugh!

"Well…" Sam began, sounding a little nervous. Maybe it was from the death glare Fang was still giving him. "Actually, when you guys took off and didn't come back, she and I…sort of started…dating."

"Really?" Fang asked in disbelief.

"Yea," Sam said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm really sorry. We waited for you guys to return, but you never did. No one knew where to find you or how to reach you, so we started talking and…"

"It's okay, Sam," I interrupted him with a slight laugh. "You don't have to apologize."

I was actually fine with it. No more Red-Haired Wonder for Fang to drool over.

"Where's she at, now?" Fang continued.

Persistent, wasn't he?!

"Visiting family in Florida," Sam replied politely.

Fang actually looked disappointed, which, for some reason, surprised me. Maybe he really did have feelings for her still. I didn't really want to think about it.

Sam's cell phone rang, snapping me back to the conversation. When he finished on the phone, he frowned and said, "Sorry, but I have to go. My family is ready to go."

"Alright," I replied. "It was cool seeing you again."

"Yea," he smiled. "It was great seeing you all again, too. Take care of yourselves."

After he left, Fang and I remained quiet, finishing our food. The tension between us kept the others quiet, too, so dinner was silent for everyone.

About half an hour later, we found a motel, and got two rooms for the night.

Maybe tomorrow would be better…

**Alright, before someone goes crazy about that Sam/Lissa thing…here's my reasoning:**

_**A lot**_** of people write about Sam and Lissa being mean or whatever, but they didn't really seem like totally "mean" people to me.**

**I don't know, maybe I need to go back and reread the second book or something, but Lissa was just acting like a girl with a crush. Sure, the kiss thing was kind of weird, but when she saw Max and stuff, she was never mean about it. She thought they were brother and sister, ya know?**

**Anyway, I decided to throw Sam in to show a little bit of jealousy from Fang's side. And, of course, more jealousy from Max. ^_^**

**Sorry about the rant. I just wanted to throw that out there before someone started asking if they were going to come back and try to steal Max and Fang away or something…**

**The answer: no. Sorry. Maybe next time.**


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

_**Fang POV**_

Max and I didn't talk the rest of the night. I was slightly embarrassed about being jealous, and I knew Max was mad at me for asking about Lissa.

Neither of us really knew what to say, so we didn't.

I debated with myself for a while, trying to decide if I should try talking to her or not, but decided against it in the end.

The six of us sat in mine, Iggy, and the Gasman's room for a while, planning out the next day. Finally, we stacked fists, and Max tucked the Gasman in. The girls told us "goodnight" and went back to their room.

"What was that about?" Iggy asked.

"What?" I asked, pretending to be confused.

"You and Max…and Sam," he replied.

"I don't know what you're—"

"Don't play dumb," Iggy interrupted. "I don't need my vision to see that you got jealous of Sam talking to Max. That's why you brought Lissa up, isn't it?"

I let out heavy sigh of frustration. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Whatever," Iggy yawned.

Guess who wasn't actually sleeping yet…

"Fang, why would you be jealous of that Sam guy?" the Gasman whispered.

I had no idea what to tell him without telling him the truth or coming off as a total jerk.

"You'll figure it out when you're older and like girls," Iggy laughed.

Gazzy sat up quickly, trying to sort everything out in his head.

"Wait! If you were jealous of Sam, then, does that mean you like Max?" he questioned, putting the pieces together. "Does it have something to do with when she kissed you on the beach that one time when she thought you were dying?"

Iggy continued laughing, and I just sighed.

Everyone seemed to be able to pick up on this. Even the Gasman could pick up those simple hints.

"Seriously, Gasman," I said. "You'll think differently when you're older."

"Doubt it!" he disagreed.

I chuckled softly and rolled over, which was my way of saying "let's drop it."

_**Max POV**_

When Nudge, Angel, and I made it to our room, I immediately got in the shower. You learn to take advantage of having a hot shower available.

Not to mention, the shower is a great place to stop and think. Why did Fang have to bring up the Red-Haired Wonder? Was he trying to make me mad?

"You guys are ridiculous," Angel sighed in my thoughts.

I didn't bother responding. I simply rolled my eyes and continued my shower.

Once I was done, I got into my pajamas, tucked the girls in, and curled up in my bed.

"Max, are you mad at Fang or something?" Nudge asked.

Her unusually short question told me that she wanted a "no-crap" explanation.

"Why would you ask that, honey?"

"You two barely spoke, actually, you NEVER spoke after Sam left," she replied in a "duh" tone.

"Just frustrated," I shrugged.

"Oh, whatever!" she exclaimed. "You were straight up mad. Was it because he said something about another girl? Who was he talking about anyway?"

"Fang feels really bad about mentioning her," Angel chimed in. "You two need to kiss and make up!"

Angel and Nudge both started giggling while I blushed, though they couldn't see it.

"Goodnight you two," I said sternly.

"Night, Max," they replied in unison.

_**Fang POV**_

The next morning, I woke up to a knock on the door. Iggy grumbled about not wanting to get up yet, and the Gasman sat up, rubbing his eyes.

I rolled out of bed, dragging my feet to the door. Through the little peephole, I saw Max standing in the hall.

I opened the door and mumbled a "hello."

"Rise and shine," she replied loudly in an attempt to get Iggy and Gazzy up. "Come on, guys! We've gotta get moving!"

The Gasman slipped out of bed while Iggy called, "I'm not making breakfast this morning."

Max laughed, "You don't have to. This hotel serves breakfast in the lobby."

"Awesome!" the Gasman cheered.

"Why don't you and Iggy get ready, Fang and I can go grab breakfast for everyone, and we'll meet up in our room," Max suggested to him.

"Alright," he smiled.

I yawned and said, "Let me take a quick shower. I'll meet you in the hall in five."

She nodded and went to tell the girls the plan.

_**Max POV**_

The tension between Fang and I was mostly over the next morning. We hardly spoke, but there weren't any "I want to kill him/her" vibes tearing us apart.

We scanned the counters and tables of breakfast foods and began loading up plates. We then met the others in the girls' room, so we could eat and discuss the plans for the day.

"Is the Lerner's School bad, like the School or Itex?" Nudge asked. "Or does it have information we need to save the world? Or someone we have to meet, maybe? I don't understand why we had to come all the way back here."

Good point. The Voice never did—

"Max, the Lerner's School is not evil. It holds important knowledge that you must acquire," the Voice answered.

_About time, Voice._

"You should learn to rely on more than just my guidance," the Voice replied calmly. "You have five others with you that can help you. Don't forget that."

_No freaking duh! But they aren't the ones ordering me to fly all over the country with no explanation!_

That stupid Voice was laughing at me again. "I'm merely here to give you some helpful hints."

_Or not so helpful_, I thought back snidely.

"Max?" Fang whispered next to me, placing his hand on mine.

"Sorry," I replied quickly, blushing as I pulled my hand back. "The school isn't evil. Apparently, it has information we need."

"So we don't have to break in," Fang said.

"Guess not," I shrugged. "Let's get packed and move out, guys."

Finally, we were heading to the Lerner's School. Hopefully, this would all be done with soon.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

_**Max POV**_

We landed in front of the school, not knowing what to expect.

"Now what?" Gazzy asked as we walked up the path to the school.

I looked back at my flock and couldn't stop myself from smiling at what I saw. Gazzy had slipped his hand into Fang's tightly, and Fang squeezed his hand in return.

Angel glided up next to me and took my hand a moment later.

Fang gave me a nod, and we walked through the front door.

"Hello," a well-dressed, older woman greeted us with a smile. "Please, come in."

I squeezed Angel's hand and thought, "Are they safe?"

She smiled up at me and nodded her head, her blond curls bobbing.

"I recognize you," the woman stated as she led us down a hall. "You all are the reason they created this school. Why did you leave?"

I put on my best fake smile and replied, "We already had plans that we just couldn't cancel."

She nodded and continued the journey further into the school.

"Where exactly are you taking us?" Fang asked from the rear, Gazzy still in hand.

"To see one of the co-Presidents of our school. She'll be ecstatic to see all of you!" she explained.

I nodded as we neared a door that, I'm guessing, had our mystery president's name on the window pane. Before I could see it, the woman opened the door, ushering us in.

"Max?" the co-President asked in a familiar voice.

"What?!" I exclaimed in return.

This had to be some kind of stupid joke.

_**Fang POV**_

After we landed, we began walking up the path to the front door.

The Gasman ran up to my side and asked, "Now what?"

He reached his hand up to mine, bringing back the memory of when he, Iggy, and I had gone our own way. He'd gotten scared before and reached for my hand for comfort like he would've if Max had been there.

Just like last time, I took his hand, squeezing it to try to comfort him. A trick I'd learned from Max.

Speaking of Max, she turned around and saw my little act of leadership and smile. Angel quickly ran to Max, taking her hand like her brother did with me.

Once we reached the door, I nodded to Max, and we cautiously entered the school.

A woman, probably in her late 40s, greeted us at the door with a huge smile. "Hello. Please, come in."

Max froze for a second, then, Angel grinned and nodded.

The woman began leading us down the hall, saying, "I recognize you. You all are the reason they created this school. Why did you leave?"

"We already had plans that we just couldn't cancel," Max smiled.

I forced myself to not laugh. The Gasman was smiling up at me, obviously trying to do the same.

Again, we turned down another hall, so I asked, "Where exactly are you taking us?"

Without turning around, the woman replied, "To see one of the co-Presidents of our school. She'll be ecstatic to see all of you!"

The door the woman stopped in front of had white letters on the glass window of the door, but all I could read was "President." She opened the door, letting us all in the room.

As if we weren't already reluctant to be in such a closed-in space, things got worse.

"Max?" the President asked, smiling.

"What?!" Max exclaimed.

None of us could believe our eyes. Anne Walker was one of the co-Presidents of this place?!

_**Max POV**_

Anne Walker smiled past my shocked, angry expression.

"How are all of you?" she asked everyone. "If I'm not mistaken, you all gave me different names when we met before."

I was still outraged while she looked through some papers. The others were speechless, too. Even Nudge!

"Let's see," Anne said. "We have Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel, correct?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted, finally.

"Was that wrong?" Anne frowned and looked back through her papers.

"Not that, you idiot!" I continued yelling. "What are you doing here?"

"You see, when I realized what the School was really planning, I got out as fast as I could," she explained. "Then, I saw what you kids had accomplished here, and I thought I could better offer my services here."

"When you realized what the School was _really_ planning?! You helped plan it!" I was still fuming. The others, excluding Fang, seemed okay with this. I could tell that Fang was pretty unhappy to see Anne, too. At least I wasn't alone.

A knock on the door broke the silence. We all turned to see the one face I first expected to see, but still didn't want to.

"Max," Jeb smiled. "What are you all doing here?"

Jeb Batchelder. One of the last faces I needed to see.

"Not happening," I growled and stormed out the door.

_**Fang POV**_

First, Sam. Then, Anne, and now Jeb. What was going on? It was like our pasts just blew up in our faces.

"Max, what are you all doing here?" Jeb asked smiling.

"Not happening," Max snapped before storming away.

"Max!" I called after her.

I wanted to stop her, but I couldn't leave the others with Jeb and Anne.

"Go, Fang," Angel demanded in my thoughts. "I'll let you know if something happens."

"Thanks, Ang," I thought back and ran after Max.

Max almost made it to the front door when I stopped her, grabber her arm and spinning her to face me.

"Max, stop!" I ordered.

She glared at me and said, "We can't stay here with them!"

"The Voice said it was safe, right?" I tried reasoning.

"Maybe it lied," she argued. "Maybe Jeb used the Voice to get us to come here. We've been fooled by them before!"

I placed my hands on her shoulders and said, "Listen, Max. We both know the Voice wasn't lying. And even if it was, Angel would hear their thoughts, or I would find it in their emotions. And, yea, we've been fooled by them before, but you shouldn't be too quick to judge. I did that once and look where it got me."

She sighed, remembering and understanding the situation with me and Ari, before he reached his expiration.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Fine. But one sign of trouble or something questionable, and we're out of here!"

I nodded and gave her a quick smile before making our way back to Anne's office.


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm in a super awesome mood right now, so I'm posting 3 more chapters tonight!! ((that would be Chapters 25, 26, and 27...in case you didn't know...)) =D**

**I'll probably post through 30 tomorrow. :)**

**CHAPTER 27**

_**Max POV**_

"What are you all doing here?" Jeb asked us during lunch.

"You first," I said in reply between bites.

He sighed, "Alright, Max. When you all left at the opening of the school, the government wasn't completely sure what to do. Because I've had experience with gifted children, such as yourselves, they asked if I could stay and help. Then, other experiments that survived were sent here. Most of them actually came of their own free will."

"You mean there are others like us here?" Nudge asked excitedly.

Jeb and Anne laughed quietly.

"Only a few," Anne said. "I'm afraid the branch of Itex in Germany did a lot of damage to the number of other experiments out there. That is, before you destroyed it."

It still irked me when someone called us "experiments."

"What do you all do with them, exactly?" Iggy asked.

"Would you like to take a tour of the school and find out?" Anne grinned.

No one was quick to answer like I'd expected the younger kids to do. Instead, I threw a glance to the others that said "be on your guard" and tapped the back of Iggy's hand twice.

_**Fang POV**_

Following lunch, Jeb and Anne led us on a tour of the school. It wasn't a bad place, actually. It had dorm rooms with beds and all kinds of stuff for the kids.

Max leaned closer to me and whispered, "At least there's no dog crates around."

The side of my mouth twitched into a half smile, but quickly fell when Jeb turned around to tell us about the next set of rooms.

We saw some other kids here and there during the tour. One girl, who, I think, was about 7 or 8, was part cat. She was running around a little obstacle course while some adults were writing stuff down about her.

I ground my teeth at the sight. Were they doing experiments here?

Max, feeling my tension, turned to see me, then, to what I was looking at.

"Are you doing experiments on them?" I asked, anger flooding my words.

"No, no, of course not," Anne stated. "We allow the children to run around freely in our obstacle courses as they please."

"Then, what are _they_ doing here?" Max growled, pointing at the observers.

"They are simply taking notes on her," Anne explained. "We need to know a little bit about these kids in order to take care of them properly."

"Do they at least know what you're doing?" I questioned.

"Yes," she answered. "We ask the children if we can watch and take notes. We do nothing to push or hurt them."

This place was looking better after all. An environment that kids, like us, could grow up in without fearing anyone. Unless, of course, Ann and Jeb are lying.

"They aren't," Angel stated in my mind. "It's all true! Well, what Anne says, anyway. I still don't get anything from Jeb."

She was smiling at me, and I nodded.

"Max?" the Gasman whined, tugging on Max's arm. "Can we play on one?"

Max looked at me, wanting my opinion. I shrugged, which meant, "I don't see why not."

"Sure, sweetie," she replied.

"Come with me," Anne smiled. "The largest, most fun, course is in the gym."

Max glared at Anne and said, "I do not want _anyone_ 'observing' them."

Anne nodded, "Not a problem, Max."

_**Max POV**_

"Aren't you coming, too?" Iggy asked, noticing that Fang and I hadn't joined the younger kids on the course yet.

"Not yet," I said. "I need to have a word with Jeb."

Iggy nodded and asked, "What about?"

"I just need some answers," I replied in a whisper so only Fang and Iggy could hear. "Iggy, you're in charge until we get back."

Both of them looked at me, puzzled.

"Alright," Iggy shrugged, not saying anything that would get him hit.

He ran, unfurling his wings, and flew over to the others.

"We?" Fang asked, confused.

In all honesty, I needed Fang there to help me get through all of this, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"Someone has to keep me from strangling, Jeb," I joked.

He laughed quietly and nodded. "Let's go, then."

Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and led him to where Jeb was standing. As weird as it was, I didn't let go of Fang's hand.

"Jeb," I said coldly. "I need to have a word with you."


	28. Chapter 28

**So I guess I'll post 29 before Glee and 30 after. :)**

**Glee is what gets me through Wednesdays! =D**

**CHAPTER 28**

_**Max POV**_

Jeb, Fang, and I were sitting in a classroom near the gym to discuss some things that had been bothering me. Fang sat next to me and Jeb across from us.

"What did you want to talk about?" Jeb asked in a concerned voice.

"Why are we here?" I began.

"I was going to ask you that," he replied.

He was really ticking me off.

"The Voice told us to come here," I explained, failing to keep my voice calm. "Explain that!"

He thought for a moment and said, "Well, there is one possibility…"

I tapped the table with my fingers impatiently. I could tell Fang was even becoming impatient.

"We need you to help us, Max," Jeb frowned.

There's something new. Note sarcasm.

"What do you think we've been doing?" I shouted. "Flying around the US as a travelling circus?! I don't think so! We've been trying to live our own lives, not do your dirty work!"

I couldn't stop the outburst. It seemed like all of the stress and frustration I'd been harboring was pouring out.

"All I ever hear from anyone, other than my family, is 'do this' or 'do that.' Give me one good reason why I should help you now!" I exclaimed as I stood up, leaned over the table, and glowered at Jeb.

"Max, don't take this out on Jeb," the Voice sighed.

That did it!

I honestly would've done some serious damage to Jeb if Fang wasn't there.

_**Fang POV**_

Max exploded like I've never seen before. Even I was scared of her. Jeb was practically trembling in his seat.

When Max stood up, I knew it would end badly. I stood up quickly, placing me hands on her shoulders, and tried holding her back. Her muscles were extremely tense, as if she was going into a battle against every Eraser we've ever fought, all at once.

"Max," I said quietly but very sternly, gripping her shoulders.

Her anger was radiating so much that I didn't need my ability to feel it. However, because I did have that ability, I was finding it hard to stop _myself_ from trying to kill someone.

"Shut. Up. Fang," she ground out slowly, not taking her death stare away from Jeb.

I tightened my grasp on Max, looked at Jeb, and said, "Jeb, you need to leave."

"Fang, Max," he pleaded with sincere concern.

"Now!" I demanded harshly.

He nodded and said, "I'll be in my office."

When he left, I released my hold on Max. Again, she exploded.

"This is crap, Fang!" she shouted, picking her chair up and throwing it across the room. "I can't take this anymore!"

"Max," I interrupted, trying to calm her down as she grasped the table.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this?" she continued, flipping the table over. "What did any of us do to deserve this? Jeb was right! This is all one big test. One big game. Like chess. And we're the freaking pawns that get thrown into battle without a choice!"

"Max," I said a little louder. "I know you're upset—"

"No, Fang!" she interjected again. "You don't know the half of it!"

"Maybe I don't!" I yelled back. "But, God, Max! What do you think I'm trying to do? I'm only trying to help you! That's all I've ever tried to do!"

It seemed as though I was channeling her anger or something.

Her face was red from the shouting, eyes brimming with tears of anger, and fists curled so tight that her knuckles were past pale and going for translucent. Then, she fell apart.

_**Max POV**_

Lucky for Jeb, Fang made him leave the room. Once he was out and Fang let me go, I grabbed the object closest to me and threw it. My chair crashed into the wall so hard that I was shocked it didn't break. The wall, however, had a nice dent in it.

"This is crap, Fang!" I basically screamed while throwing the chair. "I can't take this anymore! What the hell did I do to deserve this?" I paused and flipped the table over. "What did any of us do to deserve this? Jeb was right! This is all one big test. One big game. Like chess. And we're the freaking pawns that get thrown into battle without a choice!"

"Max," he tried. "I know you're upset—"

Without thinking, I stopped him, regretting the words before they came out. "No, Fang! You don't know the half of it!"

"Maybe I don't!" he snapped. "But, God, Max! What do you think I'm trying to do? I'm only trying to help you! That's all I've ever tried to do!"

I couldn't respond at first. I simply froze, my face contorted with rage and fists clenched so tight, I couldn't feel them anymore. I didn't even notice the tears that were waiting to fall until I collapsed.

Dropping to my knees, I unclenched my fists and just cried.

Naturally, Fang came right over to help me. It felt like the day I tried cutting my chip out of my arm on the beach, only, I wasn't bleeding to death this time.

Fang wrapped his strong arms around me, hugging me tightly, while I cried into his shirt. The entire time, Fang muttered "It's okay; I'm here" in my hair, gently stroking it with one hand.

This lasted at least half an hour, if not, longer.

I reluctantly sat back, completely embarrassed. Fang knew.

"It's okay, Max," he whispered soothingly. "You don't have to be embarrassed. Everyone needs to have a breakdown every now and then."

"Wonder what yours is going to be like," I joked, still sniffling.

He laughed quietly and wiped a stray tear off my cheek.

"No one will ever know," he joked along with a warm smile.

His hand was still resting on my cheek, so I placed my hand on his hand and closed my eyes. I moved his hand from my face but didn't' let go of it. Instead, I squeezed it, opened my eyes, and said, "Fang, I—"

Before I could finish, Nudge burst into the room and yelled, "Max! Fang! Come quick! We've got trouble!"

**Bum, bum, BUM!**

**Hahaha. Sorry. Couldn't help myself. ^_^**


	29. Chapter 29

**I am very sad right now. :(**

**Fox thought that it would be a good idea to play baseball rather than Glee. I am now mad at Fox.**

**If Glee isn't on next week, someone is going down. haha**

**Here's the next chapter...**

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**CHAPTER 29**

_**Fang POV**_

"Trouble?" I asked Nudge. "What kind of trouble?"

"Itex is back!" she exclaimed.

Max and I looked at each other in shock. I quickly climbed to my feet and helped Max up.

"Come on!" Nudge hurried. "Anne needs to see us, like, now! The others are there, waiting for us."

Max nodded to me, and the three of us raced to the conference room the others were waiting in.

"Max, Fang," Anne sighed in relief. "Did Nudge tell you?"

"Yes," Max nodded. "What do you mean Itex is back?"

Anne frowned, "Well, we aren't completely sure that they're really back."

Before Max started chewing her head off, I said, "Explain!"

She nodded and pointed a remote to the projector. An e-mail appeared on the large screen before us.

"We received this about an hour ago," she explained. "At first, we thought it was some kind of prank, but everything seems legitimate.

Max and I read over the e-mail and stiffened. It couldn't be possible!

_**Max POV**_

"Trouble?" Fang asked Nudge after her random message. "What kind of trouble?"

"Itex is back!"

I couldn't believe it. I stared at Fang in complete shock. A second later, he was on his feet and pulling me onto mine.

Nudge waved her arms toward the door, saying, "Come on! Anne needs to see us, like, now! The others are there, waiting for us."

With a nod, we took off down the hall and to a conference room. Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, and, to my annoyance, Jeb, sat with different expressions of fear, horror, and anger.

"Max, Fang," Anne sighed. "Did Nudge tell you?"

"Yes," I answered. "What do you mean Itex is back?"

"Well, we aren't completely sure that they're really back," she said with a frown.

Why could I never get a straight answer?!

Fang saved another life that day by stating, "Explain!"

With the click of a button, the screen on the wall revealed an e-mail.

"We received this about an hour ago. At first, we thought it was some kind of elusive prank, but everything seems legitimate."

I couldn't believe what I was reading.

"Are you sure this is real?" I pressed. "It sounds like a trap."

Anne nodded. "We've reviewed it numerous times. The information provided couldn't come from anyone outside of Itex."

"It's true, Max," the Voice added. "It really is Itex."

"We believed it was a trap as well," Anne continued. "But it all makes sense, now."

"Max, what are we going to do?" Angel asked on the verge of tears.

Thinking quickly, I said, "For one, we're all going to go to bed. We aren't doing anything unless we're well rested."

"Can we all stay together tonight? The six of us?" she asked in my mind.

To answer her, I said aloud, "We'll all stay in one room. I'm not leaving anyone unprotected."

Angel smiled weakly and mouthed "thank you."

"Now," I continued. "Iggy, please go with them to find a big enough room. Fang and I will be there soon."

I knew Fang wasn't going to leave me alone, now. Not after my very recent breakdown.

Iggy nodded while Nudge and Gazzy led the way to the door. Angel took Iggy's hand, and the two of them followed the others.

"I still don't understand how they know where we are," I said, rubbing my temples.

"We can figure that out later," Anne replied.

"This is it, isn't it?" I asked quietly, although, it was more of a statement than a question. "It's all or nothing, now."

"Yes, Max," Jeb sighed.

I nodded with frustrated understanding, and Fang wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"We'll figure this out tomorrow," I stated.

"Alright," Anne agreed. "Goodnight, Max, Fang, Jeb."

She and Jeb headed for the door, but Jeb stopped and turned back to us.

"Max," he said. "Please know: I had no idea about any of this. You must believe that."

"It doesn't matter, now," I replied. "You need to know that I can never trust you again, regardless."

He smiled apologetically. "I guess I deserve that."

Jeb walked away, and Fang began walking us toward the door.

"Fang, wait," I whispered.

He faced me and gave me a confused look.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. You didn't deserve it."

He pulled me into his chest and placed a kiss on my forehead, wrapping his arms around me.

Finally, we left and found the room the others chose. Fang offered to take first watch, Iggy second, and me last.

Fang was sitting against the wall, and I stretched out on the floor near him. Angel curled up next to me and fell asleep quickly. I, however, struggled to fall asleep. The last thing that went through my mind, before falling asleep, was the e-mail:

"Max,

You've ruined our plans for the last time. We know you and your flock are at the Lerner's School, located in Virginia. That is why we chose to inform you that we are not finished. The Flyboy attack in San Francisco was a test.

We are stronger than before. You cannot stop us. And, to prove it, we've decided to disclose the location of the center of Itex…

Your first home. The School."

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**Dudes! I just figured out how to put in a horizontal ruler! hahahaha**

**(P.S. "Dude" is a genderless term for me. I had some people mistake that as me calling them a guy. I call anyone and everyone "dude." Ok?)**


	30. Chapter 30

**Here it is!**

**Since my Wednesday has been ruined (curse you, Fox Broadcasting), I may post another chapter or 2 tonight. To make me feel better.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 30**

_**Max POV**_

Iggy woke me up while I was finally dreaming peacefully.

"Wha?" I mumbled.

"Your watch," he replied in a whisper.

I sat up quickly and rubbed my eyes. I forgot I had the last watch. Leaning against the wall, I watched Iggy settle on the floor and looked around at my sleeping flock. Angel had joined Nudge on the one bed in the room. Gazzy was lying on his stomach, wings spread out around him. Iggy was near him and already passed out. And Fang…

Fang was sleeping close to where I had previously resided. He was lying on his back, one arm behind his head, the other on his stomach. His face was so calm and peaceful. I wanted to memorize his relaxed features before he woke up and became totally emotionless again.

I had so much thinking to do about him. And me. And, dare I say it, us.

"You seem to be getting more comfortable with him," the Voice stated.

_Thank you, Oh Observant One!_ I sighed.

"It's good to have someone like that around."

_You think I don't know that?_ I practically growled back. _What are you trying to say?_

"I've told you before, Max," the Voice said calmly. "You two are crazy about each other. I'm glad to see you haven't been pushing him away lately. You need someone like that to help you."

The nerve of that…voice! My personal life is not its business. So what if I'm more comfortable with Fang? So what if I am crazy about him?

Wait! No! Crap!

_Listen, Voice! Stay out of my personal life! Got it?_

The voice chuckled and said, "I apologize, Maximum. What would you like to talk about instead?"

_I don't!_ I snapped. _Can I ever just have time to think without you butting in?_

Thankfully, the Voice didn't even reply.

I relaxed again and realized I had been staring at Fang the entire time, and he was beginning to stir.

_**Fang POV**_

After my watch, I woke Iggy, then took the spot next to Max.

I was lying on my side, facing Max. Later, I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.

Max had been acting differently lately; not that I'm complaining. She wasn't as shy around me as she had been. Ever since that attack from the Flyboys, it seemed like she's become closer to me, and I really didn't want to start doubting that before I tried sleeping.

I fell asleep almost completely at ease.

A few hours later, while I was still asleep, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stick up.

Slowly, I cracked my eyes open to find Max staring at me. A blush crept up to her cheeks, and a faint smile crossed her lips.

In return, I gave her a quick smile before yawning.

"Morning," she whispered.

"Morning, Max," I replied.

"What are you doing up so early?" she asked.

I decided to skip the details of her staring at me, and just said, "Couldn't sleep."

She nodded as I sat up and scooted next to her against the wall.

W sat silently for a moment until Max sighed, "Fang?"

I turned my head to look at her, showing that I was listening.

"I-I…" she began nervously.

"You're stuttering," I teased with a smile.

She playfully hit my arm and said, "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"You're welcome, Sergeant Sarcasm," I laughed. "What is it you want to say, Max?"

"Thank you," she whispered.

I raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look. "For…?"

"Everything," she simply replied.

I smiled again, saying, "No problem."

She scooted a little closer to me, laying her head on my shoulder. I, in turn, wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and we sat like that until the others woke up.

**

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**

((These horizontal rulers are awesome! ^_^ ))

Just so you guys are aware, there are 42 chapters and an epilogue to this story.

**Thought you might want to know. :)**


	31. Chapter 31

****

Sorry I'm updating so late!

**It's been a busy day. And I have a feeling tomorrow will be just as busy, so I'll do what I can to get another one out tonight or tomorrow.**

**In case anyone is wondering, this story is prewritten! That's why I can post so quickly! I prefer to finish writing a story before posting. It's much easier! ;)**

**

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**

**CHAPTER 31**

_**Max POV**_

A week passed, and we were still at the Lerner's School. We'd been preparing for the final battle any way we could. Mostly, we were perfecting our abilities.

Anne and Jeb managed to get their hands on some old, broken Flyboys for us to practice on.

Nudge could pick a Flyboy apart in a matter of 3 seconds thanks to her magnetic ability.

Iggy and Gazzy put together bombs that would be the most destructive with the make of the Flyboys.

Angel even perfected her mind reading ability, which I haven't yet decided if that was a good thing or not. On the brighter side, she can read Jeb's mind finally. Turns out, he really was telling the truth about everything since we've been here.

Anyway, Fang could read someone's emotions like a book if he concentrated. We learned that he had a hard time using it during a fight, though (aka: our sparring matches).

I was surprised by how much our time there was helping us. All of us mastered every obstacle course they had. They fed us all kinds of healthy foods that boosted our stamina easily. Plus, we all had our own beds. We all stayed in one room for Angel's sake, but at least we had beds.

Unfortunately, time was running out. It was only a matter of a few days before we went into battle. Itex sent us a warning message that told us to either give up or they'll make us. Ha! Like I would give up to them.

"We never did figure out how Itex had been finding us," Iggy stated as we finished breakfast.

I let out a sigh. There was only one way I could think that they would keep finding us…

_**Fang POV**_

Hesitantly, the flock, minus Max, had an X-Ray done. We had to see if the rest of us had chips in our arms. Jeb said he only recalled Max having a chip because that was the only one they followed. Max was not so excited to hear that.

We all sat patiently, well, almost patiently, waiting to see the X-Ray.

Anne came back with the transparencies in hand. One-by-one, she slid them onto light as we all gathered around to see.

"Well?" Max asked, not taking her eyes away from the X-Ray.

"Angel," Anne stated. "You're clean. Nudge. Gasman. You, too."

She paused and looked over mine and Iggy's again. Then, I saw them. Iggy and I had little spots in our forearms on the X-Rays. Just like Max did before it was removed.

"Fang. Iggy," Anne continued solemnly. "You each have one in your forearms."

Iggy tensed while Max just became furious.

"Jeb," Max growled in a low, menacing tone. "Explain this."

Jeb sighed, "Yes. I remember now. We placed the chips in you three when you were babies. When Nudge was born, we didn't see a need to do it anymore because we never thought you'd escape."

Max and I were relieved that the younger kids didn't have chips, but Max wasn't satisfied with Jeb's response. She clenched her fists and teeth, shouting, "You son of a—"

"Max," I interrupted, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Her muscles relaxed slightly under my hand, but her anger was still pulsing.

"Remove the chips," Max demanded, glaring at Jeb still.

His face became apologetic. "Max, I wish I could. Anne, could you?"

"I'm not sure I could," Anne replied, but still looked hopeful. "Max, didn't Dr. Valencia Martinez remove yours? We could call her and get her assistance."

Max thought a moment and said, "Yea. I'll call her and see if she can come."

"Wait," I interjected. "When she removed Max's, Max lost the use of her arm. What are we going to do about that?"

"Oh yea," Max muttered. "But it worked when we got to the School."

Again, she glared at Jeb and Anne. This time, the rest of us joined her.

"Well?" I asked them.

"We'll see if Valencia can do it," Jeb replied calmly. "If anything like that happens, we'll take care of it. You have nothing to worry about."

_**Max POV**_

Like we haven't heard that before.

Whatever.

We called my mom soon after and she agreed to help. The flock was excited to hear my mom was coming. Iggy was even more excited to hear Ella was coming as well.

Jeb managed to set up a private jet to bring them here, so they would arrive quickly.

I was sitting out in the courtyard for an hour or so, thinking things over, when Fang silently joined me.

Nodding towards his wrist, I said, "I guess that explains why you and the boys were attacked and the girls and I weren't when we were in Europe, destroying Itex in Germany."

Fang nodded, not looking at his arm. "Guess so."

We sat quietly for a few minutes until Fang stood up, holding a hand out in front of me. "Come on. Jeb said Dr. Martinez would be here pretty soon."

I smiled and took his hand before walking back to the cafeteria with him.

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**Either my computer or FanFiction is freaking out about me trying to put in those horizontal rulers.**

**Well, let me tell you, horizontal rulers: I don't go down without a fight!**

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**Anyway, super duper special thanks to my reviewers! =D**


	32. Chapter 32

**Alrighty, now that I'm back on my laptop, there are 4 new chapters coming tonight! =D ((32-35, if you were wondering)).**

**CHAPTER 32**

_**Fang POV**_

When Dr. Martinez and Ella arrived, there was a quick reunion. Dr. Martinez ran straight for Max first, while Ella threw herself into Iggy's arms. Iggy caught her easily, embracing her tightly.

They continued around with hugs for everyone, and, as a force of habit, I kept stiff through both hugs.

Jeb and Dr. Martinez talked quietly for a moment.

Finally, Dr. Martinez looked at me and Iggy and said, "Well, let's get this show on the road."

"Welcome to 'The Magic Disappearing Act of Implanted Chips in Two Bird-Boys.' Take: one," Iggy joked.

Max and I exchanged a quick look, rolling our eyes, while the others just laughed.

"Who would like to go first?" Dr. Martinez asked.

Iggy raised a hand. "I'll go and get it over with."

Ells grabbed Iggy's hand as the two followed Dr. Martinez and Jeb to an examination.

_**Max POV**_

The rest of us were hanging out while Iggy was getting his chip removed. A while later, Ella came skipping back with a grin.

"I guess things went well," I said.

"Max, Iggy was ten times funnier on valium than you were," she laughed.

Involuntarily, I blushed at the memory from my valium trip.

"What did he say?" Fang asked with a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Ella laughed harder, barely managing to say, "It started with something about fighting something for ice-cream and made its way around to him having a fit over being afraid of spiders!"

"Iggy's not afraid of spiders," the Gasman replied laughing.

Ella shrugged and added, "I guess he is when he's high on valium."

Trust me on this, do NOT do drugs! They tend to bite you in the butt.

"Did he confess his undying love for you?" Fang asked Ella, shooting a quick, unobtrusive glance in my direction.

Ella smiled, "If yelling 'I going down for the last time!' counts, then yes."

"Fang," Mom called over our laughter as she entered the room. "Your turn."

Fang let out a sigh, and I could almost see the worry in his face. Operations just aren't our thing.

"He doesn't want to do this alone, Max," Angel said in my mind. "He wants you to go with him."

"Alright, sweetie," I thought in reply. "Thanks."

I took his hand, hoping to comfort him, and squeezed it gently. When he stood up to follow my mom, he pulled me with him.

As we wandered to the room, I faintly heard him mutter, "Thanks."

He cast me a side-glance out of the corner of his eye, and I smiled to him.

In a whisper, I said, "I'm just here to see what happens when you're on valium."

He rolled his eyes and squeezed me hand.

---

Just like Fang did during my operation, I held his good hand the entire time. Sadly, he was pretty much out from the valium, so there weren't any goofy confessions. Darn!

The bed he was on had wheels, so we rolled him to the recovery room, where Iggy was starting to wake up.

"How ya feelin', Ig?" I asked.

"Oh no," he cried. "I'm blind!"

Mom and Ella smiled, shaking their heads.

"Glad to hear you're okay," I said with a slight laugh.

"Can you still use your arm?" my mom asked.

He wiggled his fingers around and grinned. "Yep! Well, I'm outta here."

He hopped up from the bed but started wobbling almost instantly. Ella jumped up quickly and helped him back into his bed.

"Or not," Ella insisted. "Just sleep. I'll wait right here for you."

She sat down on the edge of his bed, holding his hand as he fell back asleep.

I guess Angel was right; those two were pretty cute together.

"Max?" Fang mumbled next to me.

He was waking up. And, now, the moment of truth…

_**Fang POV**_

I felt like death, but, at the same time, strangely happy.

"Max?" I struggled to ask.

"I'm right here, Fang," she replied softly.

I felt her hand in mine still and cracked my eyes open slightly.

"How are you feeling?" she asked slowly.

"Good," I mumbled again. "Tired. M'arm feelsweird."

My words were slurring, which made me laugh. Even Max smiled.

"You're so beau-ful whenya smile, Max," I stated dopily, not even realizing what I had just said.

Her face turned a bright shade of pink, and it kind of looked like she was suppressing a laugh.

"I likeyour blush, too," I added, smiling weakly.

"Get some rest," she giggled.

I think someone else was giggling, too, but it was kind of hard to tell.

_**Max POV**_

It didn't take long for Fang to pass out again.

Ella and I broke into laughter. Fang was so…emotional. Some of his words came out like they were one word. It was too funny. And, actually, really adorable. I never thought I would call Fang adorable, but that seemed like the only word to fit his condition.

Finally, Iggy and Fang were both awake, arms working as they should, and denying everything they said.

"Come on, Max," Fang argued. "You're just making that up to get back at me."

"Nope," I replied with a grin. "Ella was there, too. She'll tell you. You think I'm 'beau-ful.'"

Revenge is sweet!

"And you looooove me. Thiiiiiis much," he countered, holding his arms out to show me just how much I "looooove" him.

"And you just looove my blush," I added.

Fang shook his head and rolled his eyes. Payback can be so much fun. Too bad our fun had to end.

"Max," Jeb interrupted with a very serious tone. "We've just received another e-mail from Itex."

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**I know I don't ask for reviews, but I'm really curious to know what you guys thought of the valium scene here.**

**I'm not going to wait for so many reviews before posting another chapter (considering I'm posting four tonight anyway), but I'm really curious what you all think of this.**

**A lot of people do their own valium scenes. Some fail and some do a terrific job! I want to know the overall consensus of mine. And _be honest_, no matter how painful it might be! I've written A LOT of papers in my life. And a handful of stories for a Creative Writing class. And I've had plenty of them grammatically, structurally, and just ruthlessly ripped apart by teachers and professors! Like the pull-ups commercial says, "I'm a big kid now." I can handle it.**

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	33. Chapter 33

**Reminder: I am uploaded 4 chapters tonight (32-35). If you've been keeping up with this story, make sure you start at Chapter 32 tonight!**

**Hope everyone had a fun Halloween! ^_^**

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****CHAPTER 33**

_**Max POV**_

"Crap," I sighed.

Jeb, Anne, Mom, Fang, and I were in the large conference room, reading over the latest e-mail for the um-teenth.

"_Max,_

_It's a shame you had to remove Fang and Iggy's chips. However, you will not get away from us that easily._

_See you soon,_

_Itex"_

The tension in the room was wound so tight that one wrong move would send any one of us over the edge.

"When was this sent?" Fang asked Anne.

"About thirty minutes ago," she replied. "That doesn't leave us much time if they really plan to attack."

"Do you think they'll really come here for all of you?" Mom asked me.

"I definitely wouldn't put it past them," I answered honestly. "They've been hunting us down for a while."

I glared at Jeb until my mom spoke again. "The School is in California, though. It'll probably take them a while, right?"

The rest of us remained silent with grave expressions.

Finally, Jeb said, "We expect an army of some kind here in about two and a half hours."

"Max, you should get out while you can," Mom pleaded.

I looked around at each face in the room. I decided.

"We can't, Mom," I said quietly. "Then, you all would be put in danger. We can't run anymore. We need to finish this once and for all."

Fang met my eyes and gave me a nod, saying he was with me until the end. His eyes shifted to the door, and I immediately knew what he was saying. We had to get the others together and ready to go.

"Jeb," I stated in my leader voice. "We're going to need supplies and stuff. Food, drinks, you know. Have it ready in fifteen minutes."

"Of course," he nodded and hurried out of the room.

My mom was fighting tears. I guess that's where I got my stubbornness from.

"I love you, Mom," I whispered as I hugged her tightly.

Her tears fell when she squeezed her eyes shut and hugged me.

"Be safe," she choked.

_**Fang POV**_

Max and I left the room quickly in search for the others.

"Go check the bedrooms," Max instructed. "I'll go check the obstacle courses."

I nodded, and she took off running down another hall while I dashed to bedrooms.

I found Angel, Nudge, and the Gasman in one room playing a board game.

"Hi, Fang," Nudge smiled. "Wanna play?"

"Not now," I replied quickly.

Angel stared at me with a confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?" Gazzy asked.

"Oh, no," Angel frowned.

"What?" Nudge asked with concern. "What's going on, Fang? Where's Max?"

"She'll be here soon," I answered as calmly as possible. "We split up to search for you guys."

"Oh," Nudge replied. "Well, Iggy and Ella went for a walk around the school. I guess they wanted some alone time. Why are you guys looking for us, anyway? You haven't really answered my questions yet."

I nodded and said, "Finish your game up. When they get back, we need to talk."

All three faces were painted with worry.

"I'm gonna go look for Max," I stated and left the room.

_**Max POV**_

I ran up and down the halls where the obstacle courses were. My flock was nowhere to be found.

_They're probably in the rooms_, I thought and ran towards the stairs that led to the rooms here.

_Wait!_ I stopped and ran in the other direction. _There's a lobby area on this floor. Maybe they went there._

When I reached the lobby, I froze at the sight I saw before me.

Iggy and Ella were basically making out right there.

Ella had her back up against the wall, Iggy standing in front of her with one hand on the wall next her head. His other hand held the back of her neck, holding her closer so he wouldn't have to lean down as much. Ella's hands were tangled in Iggy's hair.

I turned my attention away, trying to give them a little bit of privacy. I cleared my throat in an attempt to get their attention, but they didn't budge. Again, I tried making noise and got nothing. I could've been a freaking white coat, here to take them away, and they could've cared less. Ugh. Whatever.

Someone else cleared their throat behind me, much louder, I might add. I looked up and saw Fang standing behind me, staring wide-eyed, for him anyway, at Iggy and Ella.

Finally, they broke apart, red-faced and slightly embarrassed.

"Come on, Iggy," I instructed. "We need to talk. Now!"

"Max, wait!" Ella began frantically. "This was my fault. Not Iggy's! Don't be mad! He was just showing me around and—"

"Ella," I interrupted with a slight laugh. "I'm not mad. We need to talk to Iggy about the e-mail we just got from Itex."

"E-mail?" Iggy asked seriously. "Again? What's up?"

"Come on, Ig," Fang said. "We'll explain when we get to the others."

"I'll be there in a minute," I called after Fang and Iggy, who were already hurrying down the hall.

"Max?" Ella asked worriedly. "What's going on?"

"Go talk to Mom, sweetie," I said reassuringly and gave her a hug.

I ran back to the rooms and found the others putting a board game away.

"Max!" Angel and Nudge shouted as I entered the room.

"We don't have much time," I said quickly.

The room fell silent, and all eyes were on me.

"Itex knows we took out Fang and Iggy's chips," I began. "We believe they're on their way here, now. Here's the plan—"

"Max," Nudge interjected. "Wait! Why are we in such a rush? How long do we have?"

"Not long," I answered. "Now, listen! We need to get out of here and try to head them off. We can't let them get here and hurt my mom or someone. We don't know how many or who Itex is sending for us, so we need to be prepared for anything."

The others nodded.

"Guys, this is going to be the final showdown with Itex," I continued. "Once we get in, we can't back down. Got it?"

After another round of nods, we ran back to the cafeteria, ate, and made our way to the skies.


	34. Chapter 34

**I just thought I would reiterate that I'm posting Chapter 32-35 tonight (or today. Or this morning. Depending on where you're from). Just in case someone came to read more, started on this chapter, and didn't realize that there is a new one before.**

**Sometimes when I get on to read stories, I don't remember what chapter I left off on, so I have to go back and check. Well, I thought I'd help anyone out by informing you that there are three new chapters tonight! ^_^**

**

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**

****This is improtant!****

Just a reminder: I wrote this story BEFORE "Max" came out! If you've read the fifth book, you'll know why I'm saying this. If not, well, don't worry about it. You'll figure it out soon enough. ;)

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**CHAPTER 34**

_**Max POV**_

We were standing in a forest about an hour form the School. I was putting all of my leadership skills to the test, trying to come up with some kind of plan of attack since our first plan had just fallen through.

There were hundreds of Flyboys coming right for us. They'd be here in a little more than half an hour. That meant the School, or Itex, wasn't as up on their toes as we thought. We thought we would've run into them way sooner!

The only possible way to make this work would be for me to go in and distract the Flyboys while the others went on to the School.

"Max, no," Angel sobbed in my head. "You can't leave us!"

I turned my head to see that Angel slipped her hand in mine, crying her little heart out.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I whispered aloud, my voice starting to crack.

The others heard me and looked at me curiously. I smiled weakly and said, "I've made a plan."

"No!" Fang practically shouted at me. He already knew what I had in mind. "Max, we'll figure something else out!"

I gave him a stern look and switched to leader-mode. "It's too late. Listen up, everyone! I'm going to hold them off as long as I can. In the mean time, you all need to U and A and get the heck out of here! Get to the School as fast as you can! Fang can tell you what to do from there."

Everyone looked at Fang, even more puzzled than before. Fang just glared at me.

"Max, what are you saying?" Nudge asked quietly.

I was about to open my mouth to tell her, but Fang interjected, "She's going to fight them alone."

"You'll never make it alone!" Gazzy nearly cried.

With my best mock-shocked face, I joked, "Oh, come on. You know me better than that. I'll take them all. I'm not going to lose."

"This is stupid, Max!" Iggy spat. "You can't leave! If you go, we all go! Last time we all split up, you almost got killed. WE almost got killed!"

"Almost!" I stated harshly. "But we didn't! We'll make it through. I told you all that we will not back down! No matter what!"

I turned around, facing the ominous cloud that floated closer and let out a sigh of guilt.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. I couldn't be mad at them if this really was the last time I'd see them.

Angel grabbed onto my legs and cried. "Max! Please don't leave us!"

I bent down and hugged her tightly. "Honey, if there was any other way to keep you all safe, you know I wouldn't leave you. This is the only option left. I am going to make it."

I pulled away, tears streaming down both of our faces. Brushing the stray hairs out of her facer, I smiled and said, "Fang will take good care of all of you. You know that. You guys are going to shred Itex to pieces."

"Yea, but—" she argued.

"No buts," I interrupted. "I love you, sweetie!"

I gave Gazzy and Nudge hugs, telling them I loved them, in hopes to calm them down as well. I slapped Iggy on the shoulder, but he was glaring at my feet.

I stopped in front of Fang and was completely embarrassed when the tears started falling more freely from my eyes.

"Fang, I—"

I was cut off when he grabbed my arms and pulled me to his chest, hugging me tightly. I hugged him back, burying my face in his shirt.

After a few minutes, I pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes. I could see everything there. He was hurt, scared, worried, etc. etc. I just couldn't take it anymore.

I stood on my toes, gently placed my hands on either side of his face, and kissed him.

He was a little startled at first, but it wasn't long until his hands were wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer.

We stayed that way for another moment until I stepped back. His hands were resting on my waist, mine on his shoulders.

I moved out of his grasp, which was easy since he wasn't trying to stop me anymore, and stepped past him. Our backs were facing each other, so I turned my head to look over my shoulder and whispered, "I love you, Fang."

I didn't wait for his reaction. Quickly, I snapped my wings out and flew toward my enemies and, possibly, my death.

_**Fang POV**_

Max was basically telling us all "goodbye." She was hugging the younger kids, patting Iggy's back, and telling everyone she loved them.

Why was she being so freaking stubborn now?!

Finally, she stopped in front of me. I wanted to just hold her and keep her safe. So I did. Sort of.

"Fang, I—"

I grabbed her arms firmly and pulled her to me. Everything around us seemed to fade for a while. When she pulled away, she looked into my eyes. I couldn't hide how much she was hurting me by going to fight alone.

Then, she surprised me. She got on her toes, held my face in her hands, and kissed me fiercely. I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling as close as possible.

After a while, she took a step back, leaving her hands on my shoulders. Then, she stepped back again and walked past me.

It took every fiber of my being to not stop her.

"I love you, Fang," I heard her whisper back to me.

I whipped around quickly, but she was already gone, flying towards the Flyboys.

There was no time to think. I made a snap decision and unfurled my wings.

"Guys, get to the School," I said quickly. "Max and I will be there soon!"

"Not you, too, Fang," the Gasman whined.

"If there are more of us fighting, then we stand a better chance against them," I explained firmly.

The Gasman set his jaw and said, "Then, I'm coming, too!"

I sighed in frustration and opened my mouth to argue.

Before I got a sound out, he exclaimed, "No! I'm coming! I can help!"

Again, I was about to argue, but Iggy jumped in.

"Here, Gaz," he said, handing the Gasman, what looked like, a bomb. Should've guessed.

"You've got to be kidding me," I groaned.

"Fang," the Gasman began with serious determination. "This thing will take out at least a hundred of those things with how close together they're flying!"

This argument couldn't go on any longer. We had to get to Max and fast.

"Alright," I nodded. "You can come. Ig, take the girls to the School. It's up to all of you to stop them from the inside."

Iggy nodded and snapped his wings out in an instant. The girls did the same, and the three of them were off.

"Let's go," I ordered the Gasman. "But Max is going to kill us when this is over. I hope you know that."

The Gasman gave me a quick smile and snapped out his wings, leaping into the air.

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**That was why I reminded you that this was writtne before "Max." I didn't actually take another idea from the books. I kind of came up with it, and it just so happened that something similar happened in the book. Haha. :)**


	35. Chapter 35

**Just so you know, I've uploaded 4 chapters tonight (32-35). In case you are starting on this one thinking I only posted one new chapter. So, go back and read 32, 33, and 34 if you haven't already. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

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**CHAPTER 35**

_**Max POV**_

I was perched on one of the highest branches on the tallest tree. The Flyboys didn't know I was there…I hoped.

"They haven't spotted you, Max," the Voice informed me.

_Thanks_, I thought back with a hint of frustration. _Any last minute advice?_

"You shouldn't have gone alone," the Voice said sternly. "That was a pretty irresponsible move, don't you think?"

Ugh. Just what I needed. I'm trying to save the people I love and the Voice is scolding me.

"I'm not scolding, Maximum," the Voice basically laughed. "But, as it turns out, your family agrees with me."

_Yea?_ I replied angrily. _Did they tell you that?_

No reply. Big surprise.

I focused back on the situation at hand. This was it. My chance to finally try to save the freaking world.

I scoped the area one last time and saw two more flying creatures, too big to be regular birds, flying up from behind.

"Are they coming from behind, too?" I groaned.

"Take another look," the Voice stated.

Obeying, I looked closer at the two sets of wings, recognizing them immediately. I waved a hand to show them where I was, and they circled down quickly.

Before they even landed, I whisper-shouted, "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Helping you," Fang replied sternly.

"Yea!" Gazzy agreed. "And I have this!"

No. There's no way! He couldn't possibly have—

Of course he had a bomb. If there weren't over a hundred Flyboys heading our way, I would've yelled at him.

"Where are the others?" I asked Fang.

"Heading to the School," he stated. "We're meeting them there when we're finished here."

We watched the Flyboys coming toward us and guessed we had about ten minutes. I shot a quick glance at Fang, and he nodded. This was it.

_**Fang POV**_

They were almost here.

"In three seconds," Max informed me and the Gasman.

Silently, we all counted to three before leaping off of the branch.

"Split up!" Max called from ahead of us. "Fang, to the right. I'll go left. Gazzy, go for the middle with the bomb."

"Let me throw the bomb first," the Gasman yelled. "Don't get to close when it detonates. Wait ten seconds after the actual explosion before going in."

Max and I veered off to our respective sides while the Gasman pressed on. He chucked the bomb right to the middle of the mass. A second later, it exploded with an eardrum-shattering _BANG!_

We were all blown back slightly by the explosion.

"That worked better than I expected!" the Gasman cheered as a majority of the Flyboys dropped to the ground in pieces.

…_4…3…2…_

"GO!" the Gasman shouted.

I flew right into the still dissipating cloud of smoke. I was punching and kicking with furious accuracy, right at the weak spots Max had told us about. One chop to the base of their spine made them crumple before my eyes.

I whirled around to find another one and realized there were still around fifty of so left.

A hard, metal fist slammed into my jaw, shooting my head to the side. I followed through, smashing my foot across its face as I spun around to face it again. The force actually knocked off a chunk of metal from its jaw.

"Fair is fair," I growled, rubbing my jaw where he hit it.

The eyes began glowing with a small, bright red dot in the center that grew bigger and bigger.

"Laser eyes!" I yelled so the others could hear.

Folding my wings in, I plummeted to the ground. The laser shot just above my head, so I snapped my wings back out and shot up toward the Flyboy.

Before I reached it, another one crashed into it.

"You're welcome!" Max shouted as she moved on to another Flyboy.

After what seemed like forever, their numbers were dwindling.

Max finished off the last one and said, "Let's land."

We glided to a spot on the ground that wasn't covered in shards of metal. All of us were breathing hard and had patches of scrapes and bruises everywhere.

"We need to get to the School," Max demanded, gasping.

"Do you think the others made it?" the Gasman asked with a swollen, bloody lip. "How long has it been since they left?"

"I don't know," Max replied. "So let's hurry!"


	36. Chapter 36

**I have a lot of reviews (for me). haha ^_^**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! =D**

**Sorry I'm updating later than usual tonight. I got REALLY distracted when I was working on my homework earlier. So I just finished. lol  
Good thing I don't have class until 11:30 tomorrow morning. :)**

**Anyway, how about I post 2 chapters tonight?**

**Good.**

**Enjoy!**

**=D**

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****CHAPTER 36**

_**Third Person POV**_

"Angel?" Iggy asked from the tree branch above Angel. "Can you reach any minds from here?"

"I can try," she replied.

Nudge and Iggy remained quiet as Angel began concentrating. Nudge examined the School from her perch next to Angel.

"There's a vent on the roof near the south end at 5 o'clock," Nudge declared.

Iggy nodded, calculating the distance and direction in which Nudge described.

Angel sighed and said, "I'm only getting a little bit from inside. We're too far away."

"Let's get to the roof," Iggy stated. "You can try again from there."

A loud explosion echoed through the area, causing Nudge and Angel to tense up.

"Music to my ears," Iggy smiled. "That was our wonderful creation you just listened to."

"Come on," Nudge chuckled before composing herself. "We need to go."

The three bird-kids flew high above the School, circling it from above while checking for any immediate dangers.

"All clear," Angel announced.

Nudge took the lead, and, one by one, they folded their wing in, dive-bombing toward their desired landing spot. Snapping their wings out again at just the right time, they landed silently on the roof. Angel took Iggy's hand and followed Nudge to the air vent.

Nudge's hand hovered over the screws holding the metal cover over the vent, and slowly pulled them to her. Iggy and Angel held onto the cover and gently placed it to the side when the screws were removed.

"Wait," Iggy said almost inaudibly. "Are you getting anything, Ange?"

Angel closed her eyes, listening for thoughts.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and worriedly whispered, "Yea. It sounds like Max, Fang, and Gazzy are winning against the Flyboy army. The white coats are going to send more soon."

"We have to work fast," Iggy demanded. "Let's go."

Angel climbed in first, followed by Iggy, then, Nudge. They crawled through the vents until they reached an opening to an empty room. Angel and Iggy crawled over the hatch, letting Nudge put her powers to use again. She caught the door before it crashed to the ground and set it behind her in the vent.

"I'll go first," Iggy whispered.

Being the tallest, he could land below while making the least amount of noise. Doing just that, he slipped through the opening and soundlessly landed in the room. He held his arms up to help Nudge down. Once her feet touched the floor, she began scanning the room.

Angel dropped into Iggy's arms, and he carefully set her down on her feet.

"We're clear," Angel said into their thoughts. "I don't hear anyone saying that we're here or anything."

Iggy and Nudge nodded, then, Nudge glided toward the computer in the corner of the room.

"I'm going to see if I can hack the security cameras. You know? Set them on an endless loop," Nudge whispered with an evil grin.

"Do it," Iggy agreed. "Angel, keep on guard with any thoughts that are closing in. I'll listen out for footsteps."

Nudge's fingers flew across the keyboard, opening window after window and typing in different codes.

When she paused, Iggy glanced over to her direction and asked, "Did it work?"

"Well, yea," she spoke softly. "But I found these other files. About some of the plans for Itex. They kind of look like decoy plans, though. Like, they were expecting someone to try to come and steal them. And some of them have interesting titles. Here's the old Re-Evolution Plan. Oh, and this one is 'Fire.' There's a bunch more. 'Plant.' 'Decoy.' 'Sun.' 'Dates.' Wonder what that's about."

"No time," Iggy said quietly but quickly. "Someone's coming down the hall. We need to hide."

"I'll try to make them keep walking," Angel said in Iggy's mind.

Angel held up a hand to Nudge, motioning for her to remain still and quiet.

Finally, the footsteps passed their room, and they all let out a relieved sigh.

"Ok," Angel whispered. "The hall is clear. Now what?"

"We need to find the central computer," Iggy decided. "Wipe out the entire hard drive so they can't use the Flyboys or anything."

"Where will we find that?" Nudge asked curiously.

Angel answered, "I think it's at the very center of the building. At least, that's where most of the thoughts are coming from."

"Alright," Iggy announced. "Let's go find that computer!"


	37. Chapter 37

**I just had an idea! (I know...Crazy, right? It is indeed.)**

**I'm going to add the date when I posted in my little author's note things up here. That way, when people come to read, they know when the chapter was put up compared to when they were last on.**

**See, I have good ideas sometimes. ;)**

**Added: 11/2**

* * *

**CHAPTER 37**

_**Max POV**_

"It's still in one piece," Fang said into the rushing wind.

The School, or the center of Itex, was about half of a mile away, still standing.

"Yep," I replied. "Means our job's not done yet."

Gazzy coasted closer to me and asked, "Max, what if the others were caught?"

"Then we'll have to bust them out," I said, going for calm and reassuring.

He gave a quick nod, and the three of us continued our journey to the School. I decided that entering through the basement would be safer. I figured the others went through the vents on the roof, so taking a completely opposite path was our best bet.

Once we were inside, we snuck around the halls, pressed up against the walls. The way we were sneaking around, we could totally pass for ninjas or something. I'm just saying.

The building wasn't too tall, maybe four or five stories at the most, but it was extremely wide. And the halls wound every-which way. Even growing up here, I struggled to remember which hall led where. Don't get me wrong, I recognized a lot of it, but it had been practically a year since we'd wandered these halls. My memory can only hold so much under pressure.

Slowly, we ventured toward the main computer rooms, when I started noticing the bits of shattered metal and a few feathers on the ground.

"Fang…" I breathed.

"They've been through here," he finished for me. "Means the cameras are off."

With that, he moved from the wall we were previously sliding across and started running down the hall. We followed the trail of broken Flyboy parts all the way to where the main computer systems would be located.

Fang stopped in front of the door, his hand on the doorknob, and glanced back to me.

"Go on, Fang," Gazzy hurried him.

Quietly, Fang said, "It was like following the breadcrumbs from that story Jeb used to read the kids way back when. But…"

"You think it was all a trap?" I asked cautiously, beginning to wonder the same thing.

We stared at each other for a moment, coming to a silent agreement.

Something wasn't right.

_**Fang POV**_

After Max and I decided that we'd walked right into a trap, we had to start reconfiguring our plans.

"What now?" the Gasman asked.

"We should—" Max began but stopped abruptly.

_Max! Fang! Gazzy!_

Angel was shouting in our thoughts. Her fears were stronger than her thoughts, so I was guessing they were close by.

"Angel?" the Gasman replied quietly and worriedly.

Max's eyes were wide and pleading. The others had been caught.

"Angel, calm down. We're here. Where are you?" I asked her in my mind. "Are you with Iggy and Nudge?"

The seconds were passing without a sound. Not one word. Just our pounding hearts.

A minute later, Max whispered, "I'm not getting anything from her! She won't answer me anymore!"

"We'll find her," I stated under my breath. "And the others. C'mon."

I turned to run down the hall, only to be greeted by a good ten or so Flyboys marching down the same hall.

"Go!" Max yelled and turned towards the hall I was facing.

"No, don't!" I replied. "Flyboys this way! Go back!"

"Flyboys this way, too," she replied in an outrage, pointing down the opposite hall.

We did walk into a trap. We were being surrounded and fast. But we were one step ahead of the game. They expected us to be trapped inside that room with no escape.

"Time for another fight," Max growled through clenched teeth.

I examined the enemies again and noticed one little problem.

"Watch it," I breathed, keeping my eyes locked on the Flyboys. "They've got guns."

The Gasman stood by my side, braced for the battle.

_**Max POV**_

If we were fighting regular old Flyboys, it would've been a piece of cake. The ones with guns, however, posed a little more of a threat.

Gazzy and Fang faced one hallway while I prepared to take on the other.

"You don't have anymore bombs, do ya, Gaz?" I asked quietly.

"Not this time," he said with regret.

Ok. Flyboys=1, Flock=0

But we're faster and smarter. Let's try that again.

Flyboys=1, Flock=2

Better.

Who said Math was hard!

The battle started quickly. Fists were flying, and the metal was clanging so loud that I thought my eardrums were going to blow.

I picked up part of a metal arm from the pile of scraps from the last battle and started swinging wildly. With a quick glance at the guys, it appeared that they had done the same. It also appeared that we were winning.

The quick distraction cost me. I took a metal fist to the face, causing my nose to bleed almost instantly. That was followed by something knocking my feet out from under me and painfully land on my back. My head cracked on the hard floor, but, thankfully, I didn't black out. My vision was definitely fuzzy, though.

I rolled over, trying to scramble to my feet, but was knocked back down again with another blow to my back, just under my wings.

When did these things get so much better at fighting?

Before the Flyboy could attack again, a dark shadow flew over me and crashed into the Flyboy. My eyes focused enough to see that Fang had come to back me up.

While I tried sitting up, Fang continued his fierce battle with the remaining Flyboys. Gazzy ran to my side, helping me stand up. Then, he dashed into a Flyboy, tackling it to the ground.

Once my vision cleared some more, I joined the fight again. We had about five left, and we could finally go find the others

Naturally, that plan was busted when a gunshot echoed through the hall, followed by a heart-stopping scream.

* * *

**And I say again:**

**Dun, dun, _DUUUNNN_!!!**

**Who could it be????**

**Haha. Cliffhangers are frustrating, huh? ^_^**


	38. Chapter 38

**CHAPTER 38**

_**Max POV**_

His wing. The bullet clipped his wing, just like the one that had hit me when I saved Ella from those idiots. Only, it didn't actually break his flesh. It was sure bleeding a lot, though.

I was 14 and pretty tough when I was hit. Don't get me wrong, it still hurt more than anything! And my wing wasn't fully repaired for a while.

But Gazzy…

He was roughly nine years old. This was just too much.

It took a moment for me to react after Gazzy screamed. I was in total shock! Someone, or something, shot this sweet, nine year old boy!

The hall settled in painful silence for a mere three seconds, and, then, Fang and I were racing to the Gasman. He fell to his knees with his hands covering his ears. Tears were streaming down his face as he gasped for air between sobs.

I dropped to my knees next to him and examined the injury while comforting him and fighting my own tears.

Fang was standing over us protectively, as the remaining Flyboys aimed their guns at us. Fang's fists were clenched tight by his sides, almost as if he was daring one of them to try to touch me or the Gasman.

"Max!" Gazzy cried in pain.

"I know, sweetie," I replied as soothingly as possible.

A tear slipped down my cheek, and I looked up to Fang. He locked his eyes on mine with a look that basically said "what now?"

"Max," a familiar, uncomforting voice stated. "We've been expecting you."

I peeked around Fang and saw her. My jaw dropped and blood boiled.

How was this even possible?!

_**Fang POV**_

After the shot rang through my ears, I whirled around to see who was in the line of fire. My heart almost stopped when I saw the Gasman fall to his knees.

Not even two seconds later, Max and I were next to him. Max was helping him out while I basically stood guard. No on else was going to hurt either of them. I would make sure of that.

There were five guns aimed at us, so there wasn't much we could do about fighting, now. Looking over my shoulder, I met Max's gaze.

I had no idea what to do next. I could tell she was thinking the same thing.

Then, a woman came through the circle of Flyboys. Some of her features reminded me of an older version of Max.

"Max, we've been expecting you," the evil scientist said.

Who was this lady? And how did she know Max?

"Marian Janssen," Max growled from behind me.

I clenched my fists tighter, trying to prevent Max's overwhelming anger from growing any stronger inside of me.

The evil scientist, or Marian Janssen according to Max, glared at me as I blocked Max and the Gasman from her view.

"Stand aside, Fang," she demanded.

_How does she know my name?_ I thought with surprise but showed nothing but anger on my face.

When I didn't respond, she slowly repeated, "I told you to stand aside, Fang."

"I don't think so," I ground out through clenched teeth.

Marian Janssen's glare reminded me of Max's; only, Max's glare was a hundred times scarier and way more intimidating.

She snapped her fingers, and, before I could even react, a pain exploded in the back of my head, leaving me in dark nothingness.

_**Max POV**_

This wasn't happening!

Marian Janssen, who was supposed to be rotting in jail, was standing right in front of us.

Then, when she snapped her fingers, a lightning-fast Flyboy shot a metal arm across the back of Fang's head.

"No!" I shouted as he fell forward in an unconscious heap.

"Put these two with the others," Marian Janssen ordered the others scientists and Flyboys. "Make sure the small one is fixed before I get there. We need them all alive!"

Well, there were two good things that came out of that statement:

First, they were all still alive!

Second, they were going to save Gazzy! Why? I don't know.

But this was no time for celebrating.

Fang was thrown roughly over a Flyboy's shoulder, causing me to wince at the sight. Thankfully, the Gasman was carefully lifted off the ground.

I watched as they were both carried away, leaving me with Marian Janssen, two scientists, and three Flyboys.

"Max," she grinned wickedly. "It's been a while. How have things been?"

"I've been better," I snarled.

She gave a single nod and said, "I believe we have a few matters to discuss, Max. Follow me."

I rose to my feet and gave her my infamous death stare.

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Follow me, or you will be killed right here."

The Flyboys aimed their guns again, right at the center of my chest.

I let out a defeated grunt, and she gave me a satisfied smirk. As she began marching away, one Flyboy pushed the barrel of the gun against my back, forcing me to follow her.

Whatever she had planned was not going to go well.

* * *

**Who saw _that_ coming? ;)**


	39. Chapter 39

**Can I just say how totally freaking excited I am that I got, like, 7 reviews in a matter of hours! =D**

**I guess simple things amuse simple minds. ^_^**

**Anyway, some quick shout-outs here:**

**musicfreak61692, thanks for the constant reviews! :)**

**XxIgnorancexX, did you know ignorance is bliss? haha. Just kidding. ^_^ Thank you so much for the reviews. Also, I'm glad to hear that I have a fellow Gleek reading (and a Gleek that agrees with the Rachel/Puck relationship ;) )! Watching it, I'm always like, "I would've totally joined Glee club!"****CHAPTER 39**

* * *

_**Max POV**_

I was standing in front of Marian Janssen, arms bound behind my back, and listening to her drone on and on about her "marvelous escape from prison."

"I guess you're wondering why you're all still here and alive," she said, _finally_ getting to the point.

"To kick your butt again," I answered casually.

She shook her head, rolling her eyes, and said, "Max, you really need to speak to adults with more respect. Especially those who have you and your family in custody."

"Sorry," I replied sarcastically. "I'll get right on that. You see, the people who raised didn't exactly teach me manners."

That struck a nerve in her.

"Well, I understand you've been staying with your mother every so often…" she began.

Oh, God. She better not have my mother, too! Did a group of Flyboys go take over the Lerner School and steal the rest of my family?

"She could've been teaching you manners," she continued. "Then again, my sister never was one for discipline, either, growing up."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Rewind!

Sister?

"Your _what_?" I asked in total shock.

"Really, Max," she sighed. "I thought you would've figured it out sooner. You share a family resemblance with both Valencia and myself. You definitely get that attitude from your grandmother's side. But that wild side of yours came from your mother and grandfather. I truly believe I was the only sane, disciplined one of the family."

My mind was reeling. This was WAY too much to take in at once.

"I…you…but…" I couldn't seem to get any clear, comprehensable statements to form. "You said you were, like, over 100 years old! My mom is _definitely_ not that old!"

"I thought you, of all people, would know a lie when you heard one," she laughed. "Where is that dear sister of mine, anyway?"

"What? You don't keep tabs on her, too?" I asked in a totally serious tone. "I mean, you've been keeping them on your own niece, who, by the way, you tried to convince was your own daughter. If you've forgotten."

That earned me a nice smack across the face. I was shooting her the best scowl I had.

"I did what had to be done," she shouted angrily. "And of course I'm keeping track of you! You would've been dead years ago without me."

"HA!" I interrupted. "You're the one who keeps trying to kill us!"

"Believe what you want, Maximum Ride," she spat. "But you will learn to behave and respect me very soon! That includes not interrupting me!"

"And what makes you think that?" I demanded.

She gave me her evil smile and said, "Let's not forget who I have locked up in this building."

My eyes widened for two seconds before I looked away. I couldn't let the flock get hurt.

"What do you want with me?" I grumbled.

Roughly, she grabbed my chin, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself," she chuckled. "I need all of you. Not just you. But, if **you** don't listen, then, I will destroy all of you pathetic experiments. One by one. Starting with the smallest: Angel. Your 'baby,' right?"

My adrenaline was pumping quickly. I was outraged. She wanted to kill them right before my eyes. I'm pretty sure she was hoping I would mouth off again just so she _could_ torture me.

And she thinks she's the only sane one in the family! Yea right!

"And we'll end with Fang," she continued.

Her evil smirk returned when she saw my eyes widen even more than before.

"How does that sound?" she asked, even though she already knew my answer.

"What do you want us to do?" I growled through clenched teeth.

"That's better," she said and released my chin. "We'll need you to rob the government of a few billion dollars. Since a few of our branches have been destroyed, we need to rebuild."

That statement was obviously directed towards me. But the fun didn't end there.

"After that, if you all succeed and are still alive," she went on. "Then, we shall see what else we can do with you."

"So we do your dirty work," I replied. "Doesn't surprise me."

"It's that or lose your little flock," Marian said with disgust. "And, frankly, I do not mind Option Two."

I was taking slow, deep breaths, trying to remain calm and keep my comments to myself. The glare, however, stayed in place.

"Taker her to the others," she called to the Flyboys. "I believe she will want her 'family' to hear this."

* * *

**I'm not sure how many of you notice this, but, sometimes, in the books, I feel like there are loose ends that are never really tied up. Such as the situation with Marian Janssen in the third book. They talk about how much she looks like an older version in Max and proceed to tell you that she's her mother. Then, they say, "Gotcha!" And then it's over.**

**Anyway, my point to all of this rambling is that I tried to tie up some of these loose ends.**

**Another thing I actually wanted to point out was in an earlier chapter of this story (when Iggy and Fang found out they had chips, too), I was trying to show why the guys were attacked when they split up from the girls. The girls weren't attacked when they were in Europe, but the guys were practically bombarded! So yea...**

**I just wanted to make that point in case you didn't notice. Or didn't care. And probably still don't care. Hahaha.**


	40. Chapter 40

**Hahaha. I'm an idiot.**

**So, in chapter 38, I was like, "Yea! I'll put the date I posted the chapter! Great idea!"**

**Guess what I forgot to do in Chapter 39... lol**

**Oh well.**

**Posted: 11/4**

* * *

**CHAPTER 40**

_**Fang POV**_

My head was throbbing. The last thing I remembered was the evil scientist in front of me, the Gasman, and Max.

Max! Where was she? What happened? And the Gasman. Where were they?

I finally opened my eyes to find that I was locked in a stupid dog crate. Iggy, Angel, and Nudge had their own crates as well.

"Fang?" Angel cried from the crate next to mine. "Are you awake, now?"

"Yea," I groaned.

"Oh, Fang!" I heard Nudge say with relief. "We were so worried! Where's Max? How did this happen to Gazzy?"

"Nudge!" Iggy snapped. "Chill! Fang, how're you feeling?"

"Headache," I mumbled, trying to sit up.

"Dude, what happened?" Iggy asked. "The Gasman came back with a hole in his wing, and you were unconscious."

"Did Max come, too?" I asked, completely ignoring everything else wrong at the moment.

There was a short pause and Angel whispered, "No. Only you and Gazzy…"

"We were hoping you could tell us the story," Nudge finished.

I let out a heavy sigh.

_I may as well tell them_, I thought.

"We tried finding you guys, got caught in a trap, attacked by Flyboys, Gasman got shot in the wing, some lady that knows Max came, then, I was knocked out."

Nudge gasped before the room fell silent again.

"Now, where is the Gasman?" I asked after a short moment.

Angel pointed to the other side of the room, and, sure enough, the Gasman was strapped down and sleeping on the metal bed with a bandaged wing.

"How long has he been out?" I asked the others.

"The entire time. Like you," Nudge answered. "They gave him some medicine or something for the pain, I guess, and he's been sleeping ever since."

They were helping him? These white coats that have been trying to kill us for years! And, now, they are helping keep us alive after seriously injuring us. What did they have planned? I was going insane.

I did a quick scan of the others, making sure everyone was relatively unharmed. Then, Angel's head shot up, facing the door.

"Someone's coming," she muttered.

Her eyes brightened a little as the footsteps grew closer.

"Who is it, Ange?" Nudge asked below a whisper.

"Max?" Iggy asked, listening carefully to the sounds of the steps.

"Max!" Angel cheered almost silently.

_**Max POV**_

Finally, the Flyboys, with me in tow, reached the room where the others were. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and Angel were all in separate cages, and the Gasman was strapped down to a "bed." There was one empty crate next to Fang. Guess who gets that one?

Suddenly, I was struck with a plan! The white coats forgot one small, fatal problem with sending Flyboys with me: Nudge.

"Angel," I thought quickly. "Send this message to Nudge! She needs to use her abilities on these Flyboys when they open my cage. You all know what to do from there. Hurry!"

She gave me the slightest nod, and, a moment later, Nudge's mouth twitched into an evil grin.

One Flyboy unlocked my crate while the other roughly threw me in. Before they could close it, limbs started crashing to the floor. In about a minute and a half, all that was left was a pile of metal.

"Way to go, Nudge!" I smiled.

"New personal best," she beamed with pride.

I pulled myself up, rubbing my shoulder where it painfully smashed on the floor of the crate.

I then proceeded to unlock each crate, ending with Fang's.

"You ok?" he asked as he stepped out and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

"More or less," I replied quietly. "We can talk later. We need to get Gazzy and go. Do you think you can carry him?"

He nodded and ran to release Gazzy's restraints.

"I don't think we have much time, guys," I said quickly. "Marian Janssen wants us to—"

"Wait!" Nudge interrupted. "Marian Janssen? As in, the turtle lady?"

"What?" Iggy asked in total confusion.

I sighed and said, "The evil witch from Germany. Now, stop interrupting! She wants us to steal from the government or something. We need to book it out of here and get to the Lerner's School!"

"Why back there?" Fang asked with a sleeping Gazzy in his arms.

"I have to make sure my mom and Ella are still ok," I replied. "Now, let's go!"

"Max," the voice chimed in. "Your mother is safe. You need to finish your business here. You need to bring down Itex once and for all."

_Are you absolutely sure my family is safe?_

I had to be positive.

"Yes," the voice answered. "Now, quickly! Find your aunt and end this."

"New plan, everyone," I announced, stopping in the middle of the hall.

The others stopped abruptly and gave me curious looks.

"Mom and Ella are fine," I stated. "We have to destroy this place. Now. Iggy, we'll need bombs. Use whatever you can find! Flyboy parts, lab equipment, whatever. Take Gazzy and Angel with you back to that room."

"What about us?" Nudge asked.

"We have to be on guard for them. It's only a matter of time before the idiots running this place realize we aren't there right now," I decided. "Once he's finished, we can make a quick get-away and bomb the place to smithereens."

"Right!" she nodded.

And so began the first step in the destruction of Itex.

* * *

**AHHHH!!! Only 2 more chapters! (...and an epilogue...)**

**What's going to happen???**

**Haha. Sorry. It's been a long day already. I'm a little sleepy. I went to bed pretty late last night, and the fire alarm went off early this morning (...early for me). Not so exciting. And I've been working on a business report project thing all afternoon.**

**At least Glee comes on tonight!!! =D  
((Or at least it better. Since they decided not show it last week. :( ))**


	41. Chapter 41

**Fox Broadcasting managed to let me down again. No Glee this week. :(**

**Seriously, I watch one hour of TV during the week. And that's Glee. Or _was_ Glee. :(  
Supposedly, it'll be back on this Wednesday (the 11th), but we shall see.**

**Sorry about my rant. Anyway, here's the next chapter...**

**=D**

* * *

**CHAPTER 41**

_**Max POV**_

Iggy was working faster than I'd ever seen. He was working on one large bomb that I was hoping wouldn't blow up the entire desert.

"Don't you think that's going to be kind of hard to carry, Ig?" I asked, still scanning the halls.

"That's the thing," he replied. "We aren't carrying it. It has to stay here. It's going to be set on a timer. When I flip the switch, we'll have no more than ten minutes to get out."

_Would that be enough time?_ I kept thinking. _Could we do it? What if we ran into more Flyboys?_

"There's a window just down the hall," Fang said, as if answering my questions. "Try making a small bomb to blow it open."

"If I have time!" Iggy exclaimed in frustration. "I can't mess **this **one up!"

Needless to say, my nerves were on the edge. We were preparing to blow Itex, the place that tortured us since birth, to oblivion. As much as I hated to admit it, I was scared. I was a little excited and anxious, but mostly scared. We still had to make sure we could get out.

My thoughts were cut short when Fang's had took mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I looked down at our hands, then, up to his face and blushed. His expression was soft and comforting.

Then, I remembered. I had kissed him with no explanation. It obviously didn't bother him, and, surprisingly, it didn't really bother me either. The less talking I have to do about mushy-gushy love stuff, the better.

"Ugh," someone grumbled. "What's going on?"

It was the Gasman. He'd finally woken up.

"Gazzy!" Nudge and Angel screamed excitedly.

The girls ran over to help him up and started blurting questions and comments, one after the other.

"Gaz, do you think you could give me a hand?" Iggy asked.

Rubbing his forehead, he answered, "Yea. I think so. What are you doing?"

"We need a mini-bomb to blow a whole in the wall," Iggy said.

"Alright!" the Gasman cheered but immediately winced from the pain in his wing.

I gave him a smile and a wink as he excitedly joined Iggy in making bombs.

Fang dropped my hand suddenly, and, without even meaning to, I frowned.

His face turned to stone, again, with his gaze locked straight ahead. I followed his line of sight straight into a group of Flyboys.

Just great!

_**Fang POV**_

"Don't you think that's going to be kind of hard to carry, Ig?" Max asked Iggy, who was in the process of making a giant bomb.

"That's the thing: We aren't carrying it. It has to stay here. It's going to be set on a timer. When I flip the switch, we'll have no more than ten minutes to get out," Iggy explained.

That answer didn't help Max calm down. I knew exactly what was going through her head.

"There's a window just down the hall, "I said. "Try making a small bomb to blow it open. We'll be able to get out quicker that way."

"If I have time!" Iggy snapped. "I can't mess this one up!"

As I continued my watch over the hallway, I felt Max's emotions. Fear, anxiety, excitement, but mostly fear. She had to calm down if we were going to get the others out in time.

I took her hand in mine and squeezed it in a comforting way. Her face was gradually turning a shade of pink as she looked at our connected hands, then, to my face.

She studied my face a moment longer until we heard someone mumbling behind us.

"Ugh. What's going on?" the Gasman asked, trying to sit up.

"Gazzy!" Nudge and Angel cried together.

Both of them ran to the Gasman and helped him stand up. He winced, but put on his toughest face.

"Gaz, do you think you could give me a hand?" Iggy asked.

The Gasman rubbed his forehead with one hand and said, "Yea. I think so. What are you doing?"

"We need a mini-bomb to blow a whole in the wall," Iggy stated.

The Gasman grinned, saying, "Alright!"

It was good to see the Gasman back to his old self, well, mostly himself. He was still wincing and fighting the pain. But something didn't feel right at that moment. I turned back to the hall and saw a small group of Flyboys. I let go of Max's hand and tensed up.

"Flyboys," I announced grimly.

Max, Nudge, and I got into fighting stances.

The Flyboys began marching toward us, and that's when I realized something.

"It's the older models," I said quietly to Max and Nudge. "Old weak spots."

We decided to meet them halfway and take them down quickly.

Sure enough, two and a half minutes later, we took down eight Flyboys.

"The other ones must be charging still," Max shrugged.

"Then let's take them out now," I answered, running back to Iggy.

"We're ready to go," Iggy smiled evilly.

"Hold on," Max stated. "Gazzy can't fly yet. It could only damage his wing further."

"Come on, Gaz," I interrupted, holding out my arms.

He jumped into them, wrapping his legs and arms around me in a way that wouldn't get in the way of my wings.

"Here, Max," the Gasman smiled, handing her the small bomb.

"Good work, Gazzy," Max commended. "Alright, Ig. Flip the switch!"


	42. Chapter 42

**Alrighty! It's finally here! I'm back on my laptop and ready to rock. So let's do this thing.**

* * *

CHAPTER 42

_**Max POV**_

Before Iggy started the timer, alarms were screeching from every corner of the building. He paused, unsure if he should still try it since we were about to have to fight.

"Do it, Ig," I called over the alarms. "We have to try!"

He nodded once and hit the switch.

The chase was on!

We were darting down the hall at incredible speed with no obstacles…yet.

"You six!" a white coat yelled, stepping in our path a few feet away. "Stop!"

"I've got him," I shouted to the others, taking the lead.

Since he was just a regular old human, I basically just bowled him over and kept going.

A few more white coats jumped out, along with a handful of outdated Flyboys. Nudge, Iggy, Angel, and I fought them off easily while Fang held onto Gazzy. A white coat ran to attack them, but Fang simply jumped up, giving him a hard kick to the head. Some of the white coats held needles full of some odd substance threateningly, but they were obviously nervous.

The battle ended a few minutes later, and I checked out the Flock. Everyone was good, but I had no idea how much time we had left.

"Ig?" I asked. "How much time?"

He thought for a second and said, "Probably no more than four minutes."

"Alright," I replied. "We have to move! No time to waste!"

"MAX!"

I turned on my heel and saw my evil aunt running towards us.

"You can't leave me here!" she cried. "I saw what you all set up back there. No one can get it to stop. You can't let me die like this!"

"Go!" I told the Flock, giving Iggy the bomb, and turned back to Marian. "I already gave you a second chance back in Germany. You'll have to fend for yourself this time."

"But Max," she pleaded. "We're family! You can't do this to your own family!"

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Was she seriously pulling the family card on me after everything she did?

"Family doesn't kidnap, threaten, and torture each other, either. But guess who already did that," I countered.

"I'm sorry, Max," she continued with annoying persistence. "I'm truly sorry! Please! I'm begging you!"

"Not this time," I said calmly. "It's not my problem this time."

She gave me a horrified look before I turned to join my Flock. They were already climbing out the hole the bomb created. Fang watched me run to them, waiting for me before he took off himself.

_Anything to add to this, Voice?_ I asked, not really expecting, or caring for, an answer.

"Do what you feel needs to be done, Maximum," the voice replied.

Well, that was different. It didn't lecture me, and it was letting me make my own decisions without giving me a guilt trip.

Finally, I reached the end of the hall, and Fang nodded to the hole in the wall for me to escape. He was right on my heels as we took to the sky. Less than a minute later, the building collapsed in one of the loudest explosions I had ever heard. Iggy and Gazzy, who was still in Fang's arms, were cheering wildly while Angel and Nudge laughed.

Once we were far enough away to avoid the falling debris and smoke, but still close enough to see, we landed in some trees, watching Itex finally fall.

I just hoped this was really the last time we'd see them. Knowing our luck, they'd be back soon.

"Not this time, Max," the voice said with pride. "You did it. You saved the world."

I couldn't help myself. I let tears of joy stream down my face.

"You ok?" Fang asked, landing on the branch next to me.

"Yea," I smiled. "We saved the world, Fang. We actually did it."

He gave me a genuine smile and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"So, it's finally over," he said quietly.

I rested my head on his shoulder and took in my first true breath of freedom. He put his other arm around me, giving me a comforting hug. The rest of the Flock ran over and made it into a group hug, and Fang gave an uncomfortable face, making the rest of us laugh more.

I wiped my arm across my eyes and smiled to the others.

"It's over, guys," I said. "We saved the world."

* * *

**After reading back over this, I feel like this ending was kind of a let down. I'm sorry. I fail. :(**

**Well, there is an epilogue that kind of lets you know where it leaves everyone. Hopefully that's not a let down, too.**


	43. Epilogue

**I didn't want to just wait to post this, too. So I'm posting it now. :)**

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

_**Max POV**_

The Flock and I rested for the night in some trees somewhere in Kansas. Fang and I sat on the highest, largest branch of our tree, staring up at the stars. His arm was wrapped around my waist, causing my heart to beat faster than usual. Not to mention the flips my stomach was experiencing.

"Max?" a sweet voice asked from below us.

"Yea, Angel?" I replied, looking down to her.

"What do we do now?" she asked. "I mean, now that you saved the world and all."

"Now that **WE** saved the world," I corrected her. "I'm not really sure. First, we have to go back to Virginia to get my mom and Ella. Then, we'll probably stay with them for a while. Or maybe you can make Jeb buy us our own house in a secluded place."

She smiled widely and said, "Yea! It could be near the beach."

"Whatever you want, sweetheart," I laughed.

"Thanks, Max," she said, still smiling. "Goodnight."

She hopped back down to the branch she was sharing with Nudge and curled up next to her.

"So, how does it feel?" Fang asked randomly.

"How does what feel?" I questioned.

"Fulfilling you 'destiny,'" he said, pulling his arm away to make air quotes.

He put his arm back to its previous position around my waist and gave me a smirk.

"Amazing," I answered with a contented sigh. "Free."

He chuckled softly and placed a gentle kiss on top of my head.

"I love you, too," he whispered in my ear, replying to when I said that to him from the cliff.

I turned my head to look in his eyes, a blush resting on my cheeks. He was full-out smiling. And leaning closer to me. His lips pressed against mine softly. We continued for a while until oxygen became absolutely necessary. I mean, breathing through your nose helps during times like this, but it doesn't always get the job done.

He leaned back against the tree, keeping me against his side. I laid my head on his chest, and we soon fell asleep.

The next afternoon, we arrived at the Lerner's School. The receptionist was ecstatic to see us. She picked up the phone and began talking quickly to the person on the other end.

When she hung up, she ran to us and started talking quickly again.

"What happened? I saw the news! The place blew up and we weren't sure if you all made it out or not!"

She hugged each of us, when I heard more people running from the hall ahead.

Mom, Ella, Jeb, and Anne came into sight, all with various expressions of relief, joy, and excitement.

"Max!" my mom cried. "Honey, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Just like the receptionist, she began hugging all of us, followed by Ella, Anne, and even Jeb.

"Come," Anne praised. "Let's get all of you cleaned up and all the food you can eat!"

An hour later, we were all clean and stuffing our faces. We told the others of what happened at the School, including _everything_ Marian Janssen told me.

"She always caused trouble when we were kids," Mom explained. "Dad tried everything to help her, but she kept pushing him away."

Everyone sat silently, soaking in all of the information that had been spilled over lunch.

"What are you all going to do, now?" Anne asked me curiously.

"Well," I said, looking at my mom. "We were hoping to stay with my mom for a while. Until we can figure out where to go."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan," Mom smiled and winked at me.

"You're always welcome here," Anne offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks," I replied with total sincerity. "I really appreciate the offer, but this isn't really a place for us."

She smiled and said, "I understand."

…

The next day, Fang and I were packing the few things we all had, preparing for the trip to my mom's place in Arizona. The others were outside, flying around, probably playing a game or something.

Jeb came into the room and said, "I'm very proud of you, Max. And you, too, Fang. All of you. You did an excellent job."

"Thanks," I said and Fang nodded.

He smiled and left the room, leaving me with more thinking to do about him.

"He may really be on our side, now," Fang said.

"Maybe," I said. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."

"Have you talked to him about getting us a house?" he asked.

I laughed and answered, "Not yet. We'll save that for another day."

He nodded and gave me quick, sweet kiss on the lips before we went to find the others. Once everyone was gathered together again, we said "goodbye" to Anne and Jeb, then, made our journey back to my mom's.

It was finally our chance to truly be free.

* * *

**Yea, I kind of feel like this was a let down, too. :(**

**Oh, well. It was good practice.**

**Hope you all enjoyed it anyway!**

**THANK YOU to my awesome reviewers!!! =D**

* * *

**I'm still working on another story for MR. I won't start posting it until it's finished, though. So there's no telling how long it will take. :(**

**As I've said before, school, work, and an attempt at keeping a social life doesn't leave you a lot of free time.**

**But yea, keep an eye out for my next story. :)**


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